eruption
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Which Way The Wind Blows
“This is what we call a ‘washing board,’” our guide Kormákur Hermannsson says, his voice barely intelligible as we jostle violently on the bumpy mountain road. Indeed it feels like we are driving over one. It’s been nine hours since we set…
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You Probably Just Want To Read About The Eruption, Huh?
The biggest news from Iceland these days is undoubtedly the eruption. Of course it’s not everyday that a volcano erupts. But it’s hardly a once-in-a-lifetime event either. Holuhraun is actually the fourth Icelandic volcano to erupt in the last four years, and…
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Poison Gas Cloud Moving From Northeast To Southeast
Emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the Holuhraun eruption will go from moving northeast to southeast over the next 24 hours. The new SO2 cloud forecast for the next 24 hours has been released. While there is no sign that the gas…
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Poison Gas Cloud Heading Northeast
The Icelandic Met Office predicts sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas from the Holuhraun eruption will move north and east over the next 24 hours. As can be seen, the Met Office has two maps for predicted areas where significant levels of SO2 will…
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Civil Protection: Potentially Fatal To Ignore Closed Area Warnings
Civil Protection in Iceland would like to remind the general public that illegally entering the eruption area could be dangerous or even fatal. RÚV reports that the tracks of at least six separate interlopers were found entering the cordoned-off area surrounding the…
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Sulphur Dioxide Cloud Moving West And South
The cloud of SO2 emanating from the Holuhraun eruption is moving both further west and further south. The Icelandic Met Office reports that the SO2 from the Holuhraun eruption has already spread over a large portion of the country. Currently, it covers…
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Malaysian Airlines Did Not Fly Over Holuhraun
Malaysian Airlines have slammed a satirical article claiming that one of their flights was forced to make an emergency landing after flying over the Holuhraun eruption, reports RÚV. On Monday, satirical news site, World News Daily Report, published a fake article claiming…
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Volcanic Pollution: Also Bad For Animals
While there has been considerable reporting on the effects of SO2 on humans, animals are even more at risk. RÚV reports that farmers in the Icelandic countryside are worried about what effects the gas will have on their sheep, many of whom…
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Volcano Update: Bárðarbunga Continues To Subside
The subsidence of the Bárðarbunga caldera continues, sinking by 45 cm just this morning following an earthquake with the magnitude of 5.4, reports RÚV. Yesterday, Civil Protection (CPEM) reported a subsidence of over 50 cm. Currently there is no information about the progress…
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Eruption Pollution Likely To Hit Whole Country
If Holuhraun continues erupting it is likely the whole country will be affected by poisonous SO2 levels, reports RÚV. “[If the eruption continues] we can expect strong levels of SO2, especially to the northwest,” said Þorsteinn Jóhannsson, a specialist working with air…
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Text Messages Insufficient As Eruption Alerts
It has come to light that using text messaging to alert towns and villages of poisonous SO2 levels does not work as well as intended. RÚV reports that some 750kg of SO2 are spewing out of the Holuhraun eruption every second. This…
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Why You Can’t Go See The Eruption
In the middle of the night on Saturday, August 16, an intense swarm of seismic activity began in the area of Bárðarbunga—one of many central volcanoes nobody can pronounce—under Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull. Since that day, my co-workers and I at the…
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Volcanic Pollution In The Air In East Iceland
Sulfur dioxide levels in Reyðarfjörður reached alarming levels yesterday, and residents are advised to exercise caution. Vísir reports that SO2 levels in Reyðarfjörður reached 2600 µg/m3 yesterday morning through midday the same day, and have fallen to 250 µg/m3 today. Despite the…
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Bárðarbunga Could Sink Another 100 Metres
The Bárðarbunga caldera could sink by another 100 metres though the subsidence so far has cast uncertainty on how things will develop in the eruption area, reports RÚV. The subsidence of Bárðarbunga caldera has now become the largest since the formation of Öskjuvatn…
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Worries Over Bárðarbunga Eruption Rise
Fears of an eruption at Bárðarbunga continue to rise as the volcano’s caldera sinks further and more seismic activity is recorded in the area, reports RÚV. According to geologists and Civil Protection and Emergency Management (CPEM) the developments at Bárðarbunga are raising…
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Airline Passengers: Your Rights In The Event Of An Eruption
In the event a volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupts scheduled airplane flights, would-be passengers should know what their rights are. Volcanoes are unpredictable and uncontrollable, but that does not mean that travellers are out of luck in the event their flights are…
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Volcano Watch: Holuhraun Update And New Photos
Two new fissures have opened up in the Holuhraun eruption, about 1.5 kilometres south of the previous eruption site. According to eye witnesses the lava streaming out of the new fissures is creeping slowly towards Dyngjujökull glacier. While flying over Holuhraun, photographer…
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A Volcano Bigger Than Timberlake
The most prominent, truly devastating volcanic eruption in Icelanders’ public memory is arguably the late-18th century eruption in the volcanic ridge Lakí, followed by the Móðuharðindi, two years of all-over brutal hardships. The sky went dark, and the sun faded, while ashes…
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Toxic Fumes Coming Out Of Holuhraun
Toxic fumes from the Holuhraun eruption have been measured 6 km above the ground, reports RÚV. The fumes are mostly sulfur dioxide. Around 40 million cubic metres of lava have been produced by the eruption, or over 100 million tonnes. Around 350…
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Holuhraun Eruption Photo Gallery
Photographer Axel Sigurðarson flew over the Holuhraun eruption and took these photos. Enjoy! Also, see more of his photos as axelsig.com. Related: Holuhraun: 4 Square Kilometres of Lava
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Scientists Warned To Vacate Area
Increased instability in the eruption area has prompted scientists to be called upon to evacuate the area for safer ground. According to The Icelandic Met Office, around 160 earthquakes have been recorded since midnight last night, most of the concentrated at the…
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What To Name The New Lava Field
As the Holuhraun eruption has spead lava over a wide swath of the country, Icelanders now ask themselves: what should we name the new lava field? As reported, magma pouring from the kilometres-long fissure in Holuhraun has now spread over an area…
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VIDEO: Holuhraun Best Place For An Eruption
Holuhraun is the best possible location for an eruption, geophysicist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson has told RÚV. Although the magma flow from Holuhraun is considerable and steady, Magnús Tumi does not feel it qualifies as a large eruption. New data indicates that approximately…