In the past few days scientists have detected changes in the eruptive behavior in Holuhraun. According to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Icelandic Civil Protection the lava flow and the gas emission in the volcanic plume is more fluctuating than was previously recorded.
The Institute of Earth Sciences reports from the eruption site that the activity is pulsatile with lava thrust from the vent in frequent surges, lasting two to three minutes every five to 10 minutes, causing bulges along the upper stretches of the lava channel. These surges seem to be related to bubble bursts at the northern end of the lava lake.
Volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson told Morgunbladið today that the lava flow is now around quarter of the flow in the earlier stages of the eruption. “This is still a massive eruption and although we have seen those changes it is very active,” Ármann said. The volcanologist estimates that the eruption now spews up 60 to 100 cubic meters per second compared to 360 to 400 cubic meters per second when it was most active.
The new lava field in Holuhraun now covers 74 square kilometers (28.6 sq. mi) and continues to grow.
In the past few days scientists have detected changes in the eruptive behavior in Holuhraun. According to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Icelandic Civil Protection the lava flow and the gas emission in the volcanic plume is more fluctuating than was previously recorded.
The Institute of Earth Sciences reports from the eruption site that the activity is pulsatile with lava thrust from the vent in frequent surges, lasting two to three minutes every five to 10 minutes, causing bulges along the upper stretches of the lava channel. These surges seem to be related to bubble bursts at the northern end of the lava lake.
Volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson told Morgunbladið today that the lava flow is now around quarter of the flow in the earlier stages of the eruption. “This is still a massive eruption and although we have seen those changes it is very active,” Ármann said. The volcanologist estimates that the eruption now spews up 60 to 100 cubic meters per second compared to 360 to 400 cubic meters per second when it was most active.
The new lava field in Holuhraun now covers 74 square kilometers (28.6 sq. mi) and continues to grow.
