The volcanic eruption in Iceland seems to have fallen off the news in the last week or so, probably because there doesn't seem to be any immediate threat of ash clouds disrupting air traffic. Nevertheless, there is (so I discovered) a substantial eruption in progress, with lava fountains up to 100m high along a fissure 1.5km long. It's spewing sulphur dioxide (SO
2) into the atmosphere, a cloud of which drifted across Ireland on Friday evening. 10% of Icelandic territory (admittedly some of the least populated) has been evacuated because of the danger of floods from melting glaciers. And there's a distinct possibility of a major eruption with world-wide consequences for climate.
Where did I find out about this? An Icelandic blogger writing on
Daily Kos, under the name Rei.
The posting history might be the easiest way to get into the story: there's a post on the subject roughly daily from 17 August onwards. The introductory post,
Just to Let You All Know, explains some of the possibilities, and why we should be concerned. Each of the daily posts includes a summary of the latest science results and other news, with some thoughts on what might come next. There's also a good selection of images and videos to illustrate what's happening. I intend to keep reading!
EDIT (2014-09-10 08:00):
I thought I would add here the links I've already included in other posts, just for convenience:
EDIT (2014-09-27 12:42):
I finally got organised to find a link for
official UK air quality data. This provides current readings, and graphs for the last week, for an extensive network of sites. Unfortunately most of them don't measure SO
2 - the focus seems to be on nitrogen oxides.