Scientists Disagree With Met Office, Say No Eruption

Scientists aboard the Coast Guard’s radar-equipped TF-SIF surveillance plane flying over Dyngjujökull are contesting the Met Office’s claim that an eruption has begun, reports RÚV.

As reported,  Kristín Jónsdóttir with the Icelandic Met Office confirmed that a small eruption at Dyngjujökull started around 2pm today.

According to the Met Office, the eruption so far is subglacial and while the scientists in the TF-SIF plane claim that there are currently no signs of it from above, the Met Office maintains that a small eruption is underway beneath 150-500 metres of ice.

Given the thickness of the glacier it remains uncertain how long it will take for the eruption to break the surface of the ice, or whether it will come to that at all.

The air space above and around Bárðarbunga and Dyngjujökull glacier has been closed but all international flights to and from Keflavík Airport are operating normally.

(The above image was taken during the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption – we will update with new picture once available.)

See more Eruption Iceland stories.