Icelandic volcanic eruption

[Jubal]

True - which is why I tend to roll with what actual scientists say. 

[Glaurung]

Wow, the entire article:

The text you quoted, plus 30 seconds of video. The video might be blocked outside the UK - apologies if so. Still, it's the first the BBC has said about it since the end of August.

[comrade_general]

Alright, that text and a 30 second video. I stand corrected. 

[Glaurung]

I thought an update might be of interest. Unfortunately the informative posts from Rei at dailykos.com stopped in November, but I have now found the Icelandic Met Office page on the eruption, which is updated daily.

Basically, it's continuing as it was. The lava is still flowing - it now covers an area of 84 km², with an estimated volume of 1.1 km³ - and the caldera of Bárðarbunga is still sinking, at about 25cm/day.

Another link - one of the webcams: it's evidently a clear night in Iceland tonight, and the eruption is quite impressive.

[Tom]

That's quite a large area... Do you know if it's still expanding?

[Glaurung]

That's quite a large area... Do you know if it's still expanding?

Apparently, yes. The Icelandic Met Office page in my previous post has maps every few days that show new bits around the edges here and there. I think a lot of the lava now ends up on top of what's already there, so the area is not expanding as fast as it was.

The Icelandic Met Office page also has a satellite photo of Iceland taken earlier this month. It shows the country entirely covered by snow except for two areas: one is a very large lake, and the other is the lava flow!

[Tom]

Iceland is such an amazing country, I'd love to go back there. The amount of volcanic activity there is amazing.

[Glaurung]

One final update (probably): the eruption is now over, as officially announced by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. Some final statistics:
- duration: about 6 months
- lava flow area: 85 km²
- lava flow volume: 1.5 km³

Unfortunately, the end of the eruption does not mean the end of the SO₂ pollution - the lava field is expected to continue emitting gases for time, as it cools.

[Glaurung]

Another probably final post (!) - this time a BBC News article, reporting on a presentation at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. The Icelandic Met Office has estimated the total amounts of various gases produced by the eruption:
- SO₂: 11 million tonnes
- CO₂: 6.5 million tonnes
- HCl: 110,000 tonnes

By comparison, manmade sources of SO₂ in Europe produce abour 4 million tonnes a year.

[comrade_general]

Tax the hell out of that volcano! Save the planet!