A strong smell of sulfur has descended on the town of Vík in South Iceland following yesterday's powerful earthquake in the sub glacial volcano Katla. Katla is hidden beneath the ice cap of Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Vík is located in the foothills of the glacier.
Read more: Volcano Katla also trembled yesterday: Largest quake in the monster volcano since 1977
Residents and travellers in Vík have noticed the smell, the local news site Vísir reports. The Icelandic Meteorological Office has also been notified of the smell, as it could only be caused by geothermal activity beneath the glacier. A seismologist at the IMO told Vísir that the smell emanated from Múlakvísl river which carries melt water from the glacier.
The smell is caused by Hydrogen sulfide which is emitted at geothermal areas. It is not unusual for Múlakvísl river to smell of sulfur, but the smell today is unusually powerful, and is probably connected to yesterday's seismic activity. A strong smell of sulfur from glacial rivers is often connected to increasing geothermal and geologic activity:
There is a major volcano there, Katla, which has a powerful geothermal system which is connected to the rivers running from the glacier. The geothermal system is constantly melting the glacier from below, and the melt water is then channeled into the rivers running from the glacier.
A strong smell of sulfur has descended on the town of Vík in South Iceland following yesterday's powerful earthquake in the sub glacial volcano Katla. Katla is hidden beneath the ice cap of Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Vík is located in the foothills of the glacier.
Read more: Volcano Katla also trembled yesterday: Largest quake in the monster volcano since 1977
Residents and travellers in Vík have noticed the smell, the local news site Vísir reports. The Icelandic Meteorological Office has also been notified of the smell, as it could only be caused by geothermal activity beneath the glacier. A seismologist at the IMO told Vísir that the smell emanated from Múlakvísl river which carries melt water from the glacier.
The smell is caused by Hydrogen sulfide which is emitted at geothermal areas. It is not unusual for Múlakvísl river to smell of sulfur, but the smell today is unusually powerful, and is probably connected to yesterday's seismic activity. A strong smell of sulfur from glacial rivers is often connected to increasing geothermal and geologic activity:
There is a major volcano there, Katla, which has a powerful geothermal system which is connected to the rivers running from the glacier. The geothermal system is constantly melting the glacier from below, and the melt water is then channeled into the rivers running from the glacier.
