Inflation continues beneath Svartsengi

The situation on the Reykjanes Peninsula remains largely unchanged, according to Benedikt Ófeigsson, deformation monitoring specialist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office. While inflation beneath the Svartsengi area is ongoing, the likelihood of a new event in the volcanic system is not expected until autumn at the earliest.

“We are still observing inflation beneath Svartsengi, which is gradually decreasing. However, the change is so slow that no significant developments can be seen over the course of a few weeks,” said Ófeigsson.

No pause assumed in activity

In a brief conversation with mbl.is, Ófeigsson emphasized that the Meteorological Office continues to ensure that its monitoring systems are fully operational, with surveillance efforts primarily handled by its 24-hour watch team.

He stressed that their monitoring does not assume the system is “on pause” until autumn.

“All preparedness efforts are based on the possibility that an eruption could begin as early as tomorrow,” he said. “There is nothing that rules that out — although it would be somewhat inconsistent with how the system has behaved previously.”