It is too early to say whether the enormous CO2 emissions from the monster volcano Katla are an indication of an imminent eruption, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland argues. It is possible the emissions are normal for the volcano and therefore not an indication the volcano has been changing its behavior. Katla could act as a exhaust point for gases released deep beneath the southern volcanic belt.
An exhaust vent from hell?
Last week a group of scientists released the findings of a study which showed that Katla releases more CO2 than all but two volcanoes on earth. The CO2 emissions are far too great to be explained by regular geothermal activity and must be coming from the magma chambers beneath the volcano.
The emissions have been interpreted by many as a sign that Katla is preparing for an eruption. Recent years have also seen several major seismic episodes in the volcano, all of which point to movements of magma from the mantle up into its magma chambers. The giant volcano which has historically erupted once every 60-80 years is long overdue for an eruption. Its last eruption was in 1918.
Read more: New study confirms monster volcano Katla is charging up for an eruption
Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, argues in a post on the Facebook page of the Geophysics Department of the University of Iceland, that it is too early to say whether the CO2 emissions are an indication this activity is picking up. He points out that more research is needed to say whether the emissions have been growing or whether they are normal for the volcano. Katla could easily act as an exhaust vent for gases released deep in the southern volcanic belt. The emissions could also by cyclical, he argues, and not connected to any unusual activity.
Katla emits between 10 to 20 thousand metric tons of CO2 each day. The annual carbon footprint of Katla could therefore be anywhere between 350,000 and 700,000 metric tons, or about 15-30% of the total emissions of Icelanders, which are around 2 million metric tons annually.
More research needed
Magnús Tumi argues that the recent findings show that there is still much about Katla that we do not know, and that more research is needed to understand its behavior.
As the authors of the article point out their findings call for further studies. It is, for example, important to know whether the emissions are stable or cyclical. Further measurements could shed new light the behavior of Katla and could thus help us improve our monitoring of the volcano and make better risk assessments.
It is too early to say whether the enormous CO2 emissions from the monster volcano Katla are an indication of an imminent eruption, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland argues. It is possible the emissions are normal for the volcano and therefore not an indication the volcano has been changing its behavior. Katla could act as a exhaust point for gases released deep beneath the southern volcanic belt.
An exhaust vent from hell?
Last week a group of scientists released the findings of a study which showed that Katla releases more CO2 than all but two volcanoes on earth. The CO2 emissions are far too great to be explained by regular geothermal activity and must be coming from the magma chambers beneath the volcano.
The emissions have been interpreted by many as a sign that Katla is preparing for an eruption. Recent years have also seen several major seismic episodes in the volcano, all of which point to movements of magma from the mantle up into its magma chambers. The giant volcano which has historically erupted once every 60-80 years is long overdue for an eruption. Its last eruption was in 1918.
Read more: New study confirms monster volcano Katla is charging up for an eruption
Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, argues in a post on the Facebook page of the Geophysics Department of the University of Iceland, that it is too early to say whether the CO2 emissions are an indication this activity is picking up. He points out that more research is needed to say whether the emissions have been growing or whether they are normal for the volcano. Katla could easily act as an exhaust vent for gases released deep in the southern volcanic belt. The emissions could also by cyclical, he argues, and not connected to any unusual activity.
Katla emits between 10 to 20 thousand metric tons of CO2 each day. The annual carbon footprint of Katla could therefore be anywhere between 350,000 and 700,000 metric tons, or about 15-30% of the total emissions of Icelanders, which are around 2 million metric tons annually.
More research needed
Magnús Tumi argues that the recent findings show that there is still much about Katla that we do not know, and that more research is needed to understand its behavior.
As the authors of the article point out their findings call for further studies. It is, for example, important to know whether the emissions are stable or cyclical. Further measurements could shed new light the behavior of Katla and could thus help us improve our monitoring of the volcano and make better risk assessments.
