The 2014-2015 Bárðarbunga fissure eruption at Holuhraun in central Iceland was distinguished by the high emission of gases, in total 9.6 Mt SO 2 , with almost no tephra. This work collates all ground-based measurements of this extraordinary eruption cloud made under particularly challenging conditions: remote location, optically dense cloud with high SO 2 column amounts, low UV intensity, frequent clouds and precipitation, an extensive and hot lava field, developing ramparts, and high-latitude winter conditions. Semi-continuous measurements of SO 2 flux with
The 2014-2015 Holuhraun eruption was the largest fissure eruption in Iceland in the last 200 years. This flood basalt eruption produced~1.6 km 3 of lava, forming a lava flow field covering an area of~84 km 2 . Over the 6-month course of the eruption,~11 Mt of SO 2 were released from the eruptive vents as well as from the cooling lava flow field. This work examines the post-eruption SO 2 flux emitted by the Holuhraun lava flow field, providing the first study of the extent and relative importance of the outgassing of a lava flow field after emplacement. We use data from a scanning differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) instrument installed at the eruption site to monitor the flux of SO 2 . In this study, we propose a new method to estimate the SO 2 emissions from the lava flow field, based on the characteristic shape of the scanned column density distribution of a homogenous source close to the ground. Post-eruption outgassing of the lava flow field continued for at least 3 months after the end of the eruption, with SO 2 flux between < 1 and 9 kg/s. The lava flow field post-eruption emissions were not a significant contributor to the total SO 2 released during the eruption; however, the lava flow field was still an important polluter and caused high concentrations of SO 2 at ground level after lava effusion ceased.
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