Grímsvötn

(See also the main article: 1996 eruption of Gjálp

The Gjálp fissure vent eruption in 1996 revealed that an interaction may exist between Bárðarbunga and Grímsvötn. A strong earthquake in Bárðarbunga, about 5 on the Richter scale, is believed to have started the eruption in Gjálp. On the other hand, because of the magma erupted showed strong connections to the Grímsvötn Volcanic System acc. to petrology studies, the 1996 as well as a former eruption there in the 1930s are thought to have taken place within Grímsvötn Volcanic system.[6][7]

Satellite images of the November 2004 Grímsvötn Eruption. The lower image assigns a false color (red) to the surface ice.

A week-long eruption occurred at Grímsvötn starting on 28 December 1998, but no glacial burst occurred. In November 2004, a week-long eruption occurred. Volcanic ash from the eruption fell as far away as mainland Europe and caused short-term disruption of airline traffic into Iceland, but again no glacial burst followed the eruption.

Harmonic tremors were recorded twice around Grímsvötn on 2 and 3 October 2010, possibly indicating an impending eruption.[8] At the same time, sudden inflation was measured by GPS in the volcano, indicating magma movement under the caldera. On 1 November 2010 meltwater from the Vatnajökull glacier was flowing into the lake, suggesting that an eruption of the underlying volcano could be imminent.

Satellite image from 22 May 2011 of the volcanic plume above Iceland

View of Icelandic landscape beneath the ash-cloud during the 2011 eruption

Grímsvötn in August 2011. Ash covering the surrounding snow and ice

On 21 May 2011 at 19:25 UTC, an eruption began, with 12 km (7 mi) high plumes accompanied by multiple earthquakes,[9][10][11][12] Until 25 May, the eruption scale had been larger than that of the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull.

The ash cloud from the eruption rose to 20 km (12 mi), and was so far 10 times larger than the 2004 eruption, and the strongest in Grímsvötn in the last 100 years.[13]

Satellite image from 23 May 2011 of the ash-cloud to the south of Iceland

Disruption to air travel in Iceland[14] commenced on 22 May, followed by Greenland, Scotland,[15] Norway, Svalbard[16] and a small part of Denmark on subsequent days. On 24 May the disruption spread to Northern Ireland and to airports in northern England.[14] The cancellation of 900 out of 90,000 European flights[17] in the period 23–25 May was much less widespread than the 2010 disruption after the Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

The eruption stopped at 02:40 UTC on 25 May 2011, although there was some explosive activity from the eruptive vents affecting only the area around the crater.[18][19][20]

In June 2020, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) issued a warning that an eruption might take place in the coming weeks or months, following scientists reporting high levels of sulfur dioxide, which is indicative of the presence of shallow magma. IMO warned that a glacial flood as a result of melting ice could trigger an eruption.[21] No eruption occurred.

In September 2021, an increase in water outflow from under the Vatnajökull ice cap was reported. The water contains elevated levels of dissolved hydrogen sulfide, suggesting increased volcanic activity under the ice.[22] Jökulhlaup (glacial lake flooding) can occur before or after an eruption.

On 4 December 2021, a jökulhlaup occurred from Grímsvötn into the Gígjukvísl river, with an average flow of 2600 m3/s. Two days later, the Icelandic Meteorological Office increased the alert level for Grímsvötn from yellow to orange, after a series of earthquakes was detected. On 7 December, the alert level was lowered back to yellow, after seismic activity decreased and no signs of eruptive activity were detected.