“I think this is the quiet phase of fading out,” says volcanologist

Volcanologist Þorvaldur Þórðarson believes the events at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row may be fading away.

The eighth eruption since the eruption series began at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row in December 2023 began on April 1, but it ended only about six hours later.

Þórðarson says that the inflation is at a similar level to before the last eruption and says it is interesting to see the seismic activity that is still ongoing. He believes that this is a release of tension.

“Based on the numbers we have, the inflow from the deeper storage chamber to the shallower one has been steadily decreasing, although it has not been as fast as before, and we have reached the point where it could completely shut down and the system will not be able to maintain itself,” Þórðarson tells mbl.is.

He says that it is not possible to rule out another eruption in a similar way to the one on April 1.

"It could be the last one, but I think this is in the quiet phase of fading out. I would not be surprised if the landmass slowed down even further, and this calmed down. It would take little change to completely extinguish this," he says.

He adds that if there is a second eruption, it is not going to happen right away.

"Based on this influx, I would expect it to happen in the middle of summer, sometime in July or early August, but I think it is more likely that this is coming to an end," he says.