It was recently reported by Iceland Monitor that the magma in the magma chamber under Iceland’s Svartsengi has reached the same levels as it did so in mid-January, at around 9 million cubic meters.
Sigríður Magnea Óskarsdóttir, a natural hazard specialist at the Icelandic Met Office, explains, “The newest data has been re-calculated, and there are just under 9 million cubic meters now, which is at the lower limit of what was estimated to have been the last eruption.”
Regarding the volcano’s status, Óskarsdóttir mentioned, “This just means that it can start any time.”
“But naturally, volcanoes are always unpredictable, so you can’t really take anything as completely certain in that regard, but given what’s going on, it’s safer to assume that things will start to moving soon,” followed Óskarsdóttir.
The volcanoes under Svartsengi first erupted on 18th December 2023, followed by a second eruption on 14th January 2024.
Photo: By Icelandic Meteorological Office