Inflation may signal imminent end to eruption

Deformation measurements indicate that inflation has resumed at Svartsengi, but data from the coming days will provide further clarity.

This is reported on the website of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, which notes that the uplift is still very minor — “less than 2 cm over the past week.”

It has now been two weeks since the ongoing eruption in the Sundhnúkagígar crater row began, and the South Iceland Volcano and Natural Hazard Group has linked the observed uplift to the eruption in a social media post.

“There are signs that inflation is starting again at Svartsengi. Since the weekend, GPS sensors in the area have detected slight uplift. No inflation or subsidence had been measured since the eruption began, which had suggested that all magma flowing from the deeper chamber was going directly to the eruption site.”

“Now that appears to have changed, with magma beginning to accumulate beneath Svartsengi once more. This could be a sign that the eruption is coming to an end — as magma from below may now be feeding into the magma chamber rather than continuing to rise to the surface,” the post explains.