The pulsating activity of the eruption increased significantly last night. Currently, the crater erupts eight times an hour.
There has been pulsating activity in the crater since yesterday afternoon. The volcano behaves similar to this spring. “The pulsing started yesterday afternoon, around 4pm. We have about eight blasts an hour. “ Kristín Jónsdóttir, Nature Conservation Officer at the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, said in the morning news on RÚV Channel 1.
What causes this pulsating activity? Kristín says it’s like geyser activity. This pulsation depends on the size of the subterranean caldera and how long it takes to fill it.
Currently, according to the latest measurements provided by the Geosciences Institute at the University of Iceland, the lava has a volume of 143 million cubic meters and covers 4.6 square kilometers. Over the past month, this area has expanded very slightly as the lava has not managed to flow over the edge furthest from the crater. Instead of taking up a large area, the lava has formed a small but relatively steep cone.
In the period from August 8 to September 2, there were 16 quite strong eruptions, between which there was peace. During calm periods, the crater was empty and was at least 70 meters deep. The longest break in the eruption to date lasted from 2 to 11 September.
Source: Yle
