In the wake of activity indicative of an impending eruption in Reykjanes, which began yesterday afternoon at around 14:20 Icelandic time, things are decidedly calmer today. That said, quakes continued through the night and the morning, and a more detailed picture of what is happening below the surface should come to light later today.
Scientists have been monitoring the area continuously since yesterday afternoon. Measurements showed that magma was on the move during the night, but then calmed considerably. While it later picked up again at around five this morning, it was reported a few hours later that this movement has slowed down significantly.
Volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable, so these results are unsurprising. That said, new satellite imagery of the area was taken last night, and scientists will be pouring over the data this morning. This should give us a clearer picture of what is happening beneath the surface of the area later today. As it stands now, it is still presumed that an eruption will happen.
For those who want to watch the area in real time, Vikufréttir has helpfully set up a livestream of Keilir and environs, which is embedded at the bottom of this article (direct link here).
Where other seismic activity is concerned, the earthquake swarm has continued unabated. According to the Icelandic Met Office, there have been 25 quakes at the time of this writing with a magnitude of 3 or greater since midnight. The largest of these was a 4.5, recorded just before 9:00 this morning.
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