Iceland review - 2015, Qupperneq 37

ICELAND REVIEW 35
No one knows how long the eruption will last. Volcanologist
Haraldur Sigurðsson, who wrote about the eruption in the last
issue of Iceland Review, has however foreseen its end. Judging by
the development of the caldera subsidence in Bárðarbunga—at
press date measuring 50 meters (164 feet) since a GpS monitor
was placed in the caldera on September 5—Haraldur says the
subsidence will slow, causing a reduction in eruption activity,
which based on a formula using the GpS’ data, could eventually
end on March 4 this year.
Scientists are however not ruling out the possibility of
another eruption, either under the glacier or at the edge of the
caldera, caused by large-scale subsidence. Both scenarios are
expected to result in a jökulhlaup, or glacial outburst flood, as
well as ashfall.
In the meantime, the lava field, which was less than 60
square km (23 square miles) when we visited, continues to
grow and now measures around 83 square km (32 square
miles), the equivalent of the entire Reykjavík metropolitan
area. In a sandy desert in the middle of nowhere it’s hard to
grasp how big that really is.
With our permit expiring and the light beginning to fade,
we set off on the long journey back to akureyri, North
Iceland, making one last stop at the cabin and checkpoint to
register our departure.
Back in Reykjavík the next evening, the entire journey
seems surreal. I try to imagine how the city would look, cov-
ered in the glowing lava, lighting up the night sky. *
erUPtioN
the eruption with vatnajökull glacier in the background.