Overview
- A magnitude 2.3 quake near Boos on October 26 and an earlier microquake swarm beneath Laacher See have renewed scrutiny of the Vulkaneifel.
- GFZ geophysicist Torsten Dahm reports no sustained shifts in gas composition, surface uplift or gravity that would indicate short‑term eruptive escalation.
- Dahm supports establishing a dedicated volcano observatory in Germany to fuse real‑time seismic, deformation and gas data with civil protection workflows.
- Geologist Ulrich C. Schreiber outlines a worst‑case in which an eruption could dam the Rhine and send floodwaters to Frankfurt Airport within weeks, with higher risk in peak runoff seasons.
- Recent studies describe a broad Eifel plume and image a large, partly tubular magmatic system under Laacher See, yet experts characterize eruption likelihood as a long‑term possibility.