The toxic plume is forecast to move over the U.K. and Scandinavia over the coming days. (Image credit: CAMS/ECMWF)
The gas plume has already passed above the U.K. and is currently approaching Scandinavia, where it will begin to dissipate before entering Russia.
CAMS will continue to track the plume “although we don’t expect there to be any impact on surface air quality or climate,” senior CAMS scientist Mark Parrington said in a statement emailed to Live Science.
However, tracking sulfur dioxide emissions is still important because the gas can react with atmospheric ozone molecules, depleting the amount of this protective substance in the ozone layer, which shields Earth’s surface from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
The lava plume from the most recent eruption narrowly missed Grindavík. (Image credit: IMO/Public Safety/Björn Oddsson)
In October 2023, scientists partially attributed the near-record-largest ozone hole above Antarctica to the 2022 eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga, which released high levels of water vapor into the atmosphere that may have depleted ozone levels.
Experts predict that the recent eruptions in Iceland could be the beginning of a new centuries-long period of activity in the region. As a result, the amount of sulfur dioxide being pumped toward the Arctic could also rise over the next few years, which could lead to larger northern ozone holes in the future.
“The impacts of the volcanic eruptions in Iceland in the atmosphere have not yet been so severe, but it is relevant to keep monitoring the evolution of the situation,” CAMS director Laurence Rouil said in the statement.
Source link : https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/volcanos/iceland-volcano-gigantic-plume-of-toxic-gas-from-latest-eruption-is-moving-across-europe-satellite-data-shows
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Publish date : 2024-03-21 07:00:00
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