Volcano eruption at Sundhnúkur. Photo taken 10. April 2024 by Jón Bjarni Friðriksson/IMO
Volcanic gas is still detected in the area and is visible in satellite imagery
Iceland Met Office
Updated 26. April at 17:30 UTC
Part of the lava field near the barriers east of Grindavík continues to thicken slowly.
Ground uplift in the Svartsengi area continues at a constant rate.
As long as the magma continues accumulating in the Svartsengi reservoir, the likelihood of a significant escalation in the eruptive activity in the Sundhnúk crater row increases.
Continued hazard due to gas emissions in the area.
The eruption at Sundhnúkur continues with one crater, just east of Sundhnúkur, remaining active as of 5 April. Lava flows travel a short distance to the south of the crater in an open lava channel but progress further in closed channels. Part of the lava field near the barrier east of Grindavík continues to thicken slowly.
Image from the Icelandic Meteorological Office‘s web camera taken at 4:30 this morning, shortly before sunrise. The camera is located on top of Þorbjörn and looks northeast towards the crater.
Ground uplift in the Svartsengi area continues at a constant rate. Analytical models suggest that the amount of magma recharged within the reservoir beneath Svartsengi, since the eruption began on 16 March, is now approaching 10 million m3, as is shown in the graph below. In previous events, magma started propagating as dike intrusions from the reservoir at 4-5 km depth towards the surface when a threshold of about 8-13 million m3 of recharged magma was reached.
The graph shows the estimated amount of magma that has been recharged beneath the Svartsengi area between volcanic eruptions or magma propagations that have occurred since November 2023.
As long as the magma continues accumulating in the Svartsengi reservoir, the likelihood for a significant escalation in the eruptive activity in the Sundhnúk crater row increases.
- New eruptive fissures may open up in the area between Stóra-Skógfell and Hagafell and/or the current eruptive fissure may enlarge due to a sudden increase in lava flow, which could be similar to the initial phase of the last eruptions in the area. This could happen with very short, if any, precursors.
- It is also possible that if more magma starts propagating from the Svartsengi reservoir to the Sundhnúks crater row, this could happen gradually until a balance between the inflow rate at depth and the extrusion rate at the surface is reached.
There is also a possibility of a new dike intrusion resulting in a new volcanic fissure opening up elsewhere than in the area between Stóra-Skógfell and Hagafell. This scenario is considered less likely than the others, and longer and more intense precursors are expected to occur.
On Wednesday, 24 April, experts from the Icelandic Meteorological Office carried out measurements of gas release from the eruption. It was estimated to be 6-9 kg/s of SO2, whereas in the last measurement, carried out two weeks ago on 12 April, the gas emission was estimated at 10-18 kg/s. This is not a confirmation that the trend in gas emission from the eruption is reducing. In fact, while the eruption continues, emissions of SO2 can vary greatly between days (as was observed during the eruptions at Fagradalsfjall). There continues to be a hazard due to gas emission in the area around the crater as well as in settlements in the Reykjanes peninsula, and we advise people in the area to monitor air quality and familiarize themselves with the response to air pollution from the eruption.
Volcanic gas pollution (SO2) in the atmosphere was clearly visible in a satellite image (Sentinel 5p) taken yesterday, 25 April at 14:27 UTC.
The weather forecast predicts northerly winds of 5-10 m/s today, Friday, and gas pollution will be dispersed to the south of the eruption site and could be felt in Grindavík. The weather forecast for gas dispersion is here.
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