Last week I provided an update on the volcanic fissure eruption in Iceland, the 4th such eruption in the past 3 months, and the first time in ~800 years that this particular volcanic system has come back to life — not that Iceland hasn’t experienced plenty of other eruptions over the centuries, sitting astride the Mid-Atlantic ridge/rift zone as it does, and from far more dangerous volcanos.
Unfortunately, while the previous eruptions produced some spectacular photos and video, they generally didn’t last more than a day or two, or inconvenience too many people (other than the ~3800 residents of Grindavik and ~700 tourists and staff at the famed Blue Lagoon thermal spa that had to be evacuated), this current eruption is a much more serious matter — particularly in how it may impact the seasonal ozone hole over the Arctic Ocean. From livescience today:
A massive column of sulfur dioxide that was pumped out by the erupting volcano on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula is currently traveling across northern Europe. Scientists are concerned it could impact the ozone layer.
Scientists are tracking a massive plume of toxic gas moving across northern Europe that was spat out by the ongoing volcanic eruption in Iceland. The gas cloud is unlikely to cause any serious health problems. However, it could impact the ozone hole above the Arctic, experts warn.
On March 16, an underground volcano in Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula blew its top for the fourth time in as many months, opening up the largest fissure of the current eruption cycle and unleashing a massive lava flow that narrowly missed the evacuated town of Grindavík. There were initially fears that the lava flow could reach the sea and unleash a plume of hydrochloric acid, which would have been "life-threatening" to anyone close to the coastline, Live Science previously reported. However, the lava never reached the shore.
But the eruption did release sulfur dioxide — a colorless, toxic gas that can be extremely dangerous in high concentrations.
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Sulfur dioxide emissions have diminished significantly since March 18, but new data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) — part of the European Union's Copernicus program, which tracks weather and climate changes using satellite data — shows that the initial outpouring of gas formed a 3-mile-tall (5 kilometers) concentrated column that has since blown toward other countries in northern Europe.
The gas plume has already passed above the U.K. and is currently approaching Scandinavia, where it will begin to dissipate before entering Russia.
CAMS will continue to track the plume "although we don't expect there to be any impact on surface air quality or climate," senior CAMS scientist Mark Parrington said in a statement emailed to Live Science.
However, tracking sulfur dioxide emissions is still important because the gas can react with atmospheric ozone molecules, depleting the amount of this protective substance in the ozone layer, which shields Earth's surface from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.
In October 2023, scientists partially attributed the near-record-largest ozone hole above Antarctica to the 2022 eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga, which released high levels of water vapor into the atmosphere that may have depleted ozone levels.
Experts predict that the recent eruptions in Iceland could be the beginning of a new centuries-long period of activity in the region. As a result, the amount of sulfur dioxide being pumped toward the Arctic could also rise over the next few years, which could lead to larger northern ozone holes in the future.
The sulfur dioxide plume has already crossed over Ireland and Britain and is now approaching Scandinavia before it will presumably dissipate over NW Russia. Check out the whole article at sciencelive, which includes links to their previous pieces on the Icelandic eruptions, and a short time-lapse weather video showing the plume’s trajectory.