scientists do not rule out a new volcanic eruption “in the next few days or weeks”

The Icelandic volcanoes are talking about them again. The probability of a new eruption near Mount Fagradalsfjall, “in the next few days or weeks”, is considered as “substantial”said (in Icelandic) Iceland Meteorological Office (IMO), Tuesday 2 August.

Since Saturday, intense seismic activity has shaken the Reykjanes peninsula and a large area around Fagradalsfjallhraun. This name refers to the lava field formed by the longest volcanic eruption on the island for 50 years, between March 19 and September 18, 2021. At the last public count on Monday, more than 10,000 tremors had been recorded by seismographs of the IMO, including two with a magnitude greater than 5.

Sentinel-1 interferogram spanning 20 July to 1 August 2022 showing new dike intrusion on Reykjanes Peninsula and deformation associated with the M5.47 earthquake on 31 July 2022. pic.twitter.com/bZX5WXnEN8

— Icelandic Meteorological Office – IMO (@Vedurstofan) August 2, 2022

The exploitation of satellite images has confirmed a deformation of the earth’s crust caused by an influx of magma at Mount Fagradalsfjall. This is relatively shallow, about a kilometer from the surface, and is located to the northeast of the site, far from any habitation. If ground movements and seismic activity seem to be slowing down in recent hours, “it was one of the warning signs of the eruption” last year, recalls the institute in a press release.

A similar seismic episode had taken place in the same region in December 2021, without the lava coming out of the ground. But it was less intense. Before last year, the Reykjanes peninsula had not been the scene of an eruption for nearly eight centuries, but Icelandic specialists point out that the region has entered a new period of volcanic activity.