No abstract

The effusive six months long 2014-2015 Bárðarbunga eruption (31 August-27 February) was the largest in Iceland for more than 200 years, producing 1.6 ± 0.3 km 3 of lava. The total SO 2 emission was 11 ± 5 Mt, more than the amount emitted from Europe in 2011. The ground level concentration of SO 2 exceeded the 350 µg m −3 hourly average health limit over much of Iceland for days to weeks. Anomalously high SO 2 concentrations were also measured at several locations in Europe in September. The lowest pH of fresh snowmelt at the eruption site was 3.3, and 3.2 in precipitation 105 km away from the source. Elevated dissolved H 2 SO 4 , HCl, HF, and metal concentrations were measured in snow and precipitation. Environmental pressures from the eruption and impacts on populated areas were reduced by its remoteness, timing, and the weather. The anticipated primary environmental pressure is on the surface waters, soils, and vegetation of Iceland.

On April 14, 2010, when meltwaters from the Eyjafjallajökull glacier mixed with hot magma, an explosive eruption sent unusually fine-grained ash into the jet stream. It quickly dispersed over Europe. Previous airplane encounters with ash resulted in sandblasted windows and particles melted inside jet engines, causing them to fail. Therefore, air traffic was grounded for several days. Concerns also arose about health risks from fallout, because ash can transport acids as well as toxic compounds, such as fluoride, aluminum, and arsenic. Studies on ash are usually made on material collected far from the source, where it could have mixed with other atmospheric particles, or after exposure to water as rain or fog, which would alter surface composition. For this study, a unique set of dry ash samples was collected immediately after the explosive event and compared with fresh ash from a later, more typical eruption. Using nanotechniques, custom-designed for studying natural materials, we explored the physical and chemical nature of the ash to determine if fears about health and safety were justified and we developed a protocol that will serve for assessing risks during a future event. On single particles, we identified the composition of nanometer scale salt coatings and measured the mass of adsorbed salts with picogram resolution. The particles of explosive ash that reached Europe in the jet stream were especially sharp and abrasive over their entire size range, from submillimeter to tens of nanometers. Edges remained sharp even after a couple of weeks of abrasion in stirred water suspensions.

No abstract

ISI Document Delivery No.: 078DQ Times Cited: 2 Cited Reference Count: 62 Cited References: ALBAREDE F, 1981, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V55, P229, DOI 10.1016/0012-821X(81)90102-3 Allegre CJ, 2010, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V292, P51, DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.01.019 Aller R.C, 2008, J GEOPHYS RES, P113 Aller RC, 1998, MAR CHEM, V61, P143, DOI 10.1016/S0304-4203(98)00024-3 Arsouze T., 2009, BIOGEOSCIENCES, V6, P1 BERNER RA, 1992, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V56, P3225, DOI 10.1016/0016-7037(92)90300-8 BLUTH GJS, 1994, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V58, P2341, DOI 10.1016/0016-7037(94)90015-9 Brass G, 1976, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V40, P720 Broecker W. S., 1982, TRACERS SEA Brunauer S, 1938, J AM CHEM SOC, V60, P309, DOI 10.1021/ja01269a023 Butterfield DA, 2001, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V65, P4141, DOI 10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00712-8 Compton JS, 2007, S AFR J GEOL, V110, P339, DOI 10.2113/gssajg.110.2-3.339 Davis AC, 2003, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V211, P173, DOI 10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00191-2 Durant AJ, 2010, ELEMENTS, V6, P235, DOI 10.2113/gselements.6.4.235 Egholm DL, 2009, NATURE, V460, P884, DOI 10.1038/nature08263 Eiriksdottir ES, 2008, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V272, P78, DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.04.005 Elderfield H, 1999, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V172, P151, DOI 10.1016/S0012-821X(99)00191-0 ELDERFIELD H, 1982, NATURE, V300, P493, DOI 10.1038/300493a0 Elderfield H, 1996, ANNU REV EARTH PL SC, V24, P191, DOI 10.1146/annurev.earth.24.1.191 Gaillardet J, 1999, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V63, P4037, DOI 10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00307-5 Gaillardet J., 2003, TREATISE GEOCHEMISTR, V5 Galy A, 1999, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V63, P1905, DOI 10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00081-2 Gislason S.R, 2008, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V277, P213 Gislason SR, 2006, GEOLOGY, V34, P49, DOI 10.1130/G22045.1 Gislason SR, 2011, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V108, P7307, DOI 10.1073/pnas.1015053108 GOLDSTEIN SJ, 1987, CHEM GEOL, V66, P245, DOI 10.1016/0168-9622(87)90045-5 HODELL DA, 1989, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V92, P165, DOI 10.1016/0012-821X(89)90044-7 Holland HD, 2005, AM J SCI, V305, P220, DOI 10.2475/ajs.305.3.220 Hsieh YT, 2011, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V312, P280, DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.10.022 Jeandel C., 2011, EOS T AM GEOPHYS UN, V92, P217 Jones MT, 2012, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V77, P108, DOI 10.1016/j.gca.2011.10.044 Jones MT, 2011, B VOLCANOL, V73, P207, DOI 10.1007/s00445-010-0397-0 Jones MT, 2008, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V72, P3661, DOI 10.1016/j.gca.2008.05.030 Krabbenhoft A, 2010, GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC, V74, P4097, DOI 10.1016/j.gca.2010.04.009 Lacan F, 2005, EARTH PLANET SC LETT, V232, P245, DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2005.01.004 Louvat P, 2008, AM J SCI, V308, P679, DOI 10.2475/05.2008.02 MACKENZI.FT, 1966, AM J SCI, V264, P507 MARTIN JM, 1979, MAR CHEM, V7, P173, DOI 10.1016/0304-4203(79)90039-2 McArthur JM, 2001, J GEOL, V109, P155, DOI 10.1086/319243 Meybeck M, 2003, GLOBAL PLANET CHANGE, V39, P65, DOI 10.1016/S0921-8181(03)00018-3 MICHALOPOULOS P, 1995, SCIENCE, V270, P614, DOI 10.1126/science.270.5236.614 Milliman J.D., 2011, RIVER DISCHARGE COAS MILLIMAN JD, 1992, J GEOL, V100, P525 Milliman J.D, 200...