An airborne view of the massive glacier (600 square kilometers and up to 700 meters thick) that covers Katla, one of Iceland’s most active and hazardous volcanoes. New research of Katla’s emissions suggests that ice-covered volcanoes may emit greater quantities of carbon dioxide than previously estimated. Credit: Evgenia Ilyinskaya
By Marc Morano
Study Excerpt:“Ilyinskaya et al. recorded the first atmospheric gas emission rate measurements from Katla, one of Iceland’s largest active volcanoes. This massive ice-covered caldera, which last erupted a century ago, was previously assumed to be a relatively minor emitter of CO2, but the new results suggest otherwise…The results indicate that Katla emits 12–24 kilotons of CO2 per day, which is more than double previous estimates of the emission rate of CO2 from all volcanic and geothermal sources in Iceland combined (2.7–5.8 kilotons per day)”
“These findings suggest that subglacial volcanoes—the emissions of which have not been considered in much detail, historically—may be major emitters of carbon dioxide. Because of this, their contributions to the global volcanic CO2 budget may have been underestimated.”
These findings suggest that subglacial volcanoes—the emissions of which have not been considered in much detail, historically—may be major emitters of carbon dioxide. Because of this, their contributions to the global volcanic CO2 budget may have been underestimated. Future work will determine whether Katla is representative of other ice-covered volcanoes. (Geophysical Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079096, 2018)
—Terri Cook, Freelance Writer
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