Iceland’s Svartsengi geothermal field sees its land rise

The Icelandic Met Office has recently discovered that the land near the Svartsengi geothermal field, northwest of the Þorbjörn mountain on the Reykjanes peninsula is starting to rise.

According to the Icelandic Met Office, “The latest GPS data and an InS-AR image from satellite data from yesterday afternoon show clear signs of a land rising near Svartsengi.”

The data shows that this rise in land is from magma intrusion increasing pressure. This is the fifth time since 2020 that there has been a detection of land rising in the area.

“The first estimate of the current speed of the land rise is that it is faster than before. At this time there is no sign of magma moving closer to the surface; however, conditions can change in a short period of time.

The fissure movements caused by a trigger-slide near and east of Svartsengi could possibly allow the magma to move deeper in the crust,” states the  Icelandic Met Office’s website.