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A timeline of post-eruption glacier development and glacier recovery in times of global warming -- an example from Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland and its 2010 eruption

Linda Sobolewski 1, Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson1, Eyjólfur Magnússon1, Joaquín M.C. Belart2, Thomas R. Walter3, Benjamin R. Edwards4, Karuna Mira Sah5, William Kochtitzky6

  • Affiliations: 1Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland; 2Icelandic Institute of Nature Research, Reykjavík, Iceland; 3Section 2.1 Physics of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany; 4Department of Geosciences, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, USA; 5Acres of Ice, Ladakh, India; 6School of Marine and Environmental Programs, University of New England, ME, USA

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Monday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 169

  • Programme No: 3.3.9

  • Theme 3 > Session 3

Abstract

Although research on glaciovolcanism has increased significantly in recent years, studies usually focus on eruption processes and their direct hazard implications, while long-term effects, e.g., on the overlying glacier cover, receive little attention. For example, numerous studies exist on the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption itself, but few follow-up studies have been published on how the glacier cover has evolved and how the vent areas have changed since the eruption. During the eruption, three different areas of the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap were affected: (i) the summit caldera with the volcanic vents active for six weeks; (ii) the short-lived eruption fissure on the south flank; and (iii) the Gígjökull outlet glacier north of the caldera, which was affected by a subglacial lava flow. We provide a comprehensive overview of how these areas have changed with time and illustrate differences in their recovery. While signs of the eruption on the southern flank have completely vanished, the glacier within the caldera has not fully recovered. Observations from October 2024 also indicate the formation of a new minor cauldron near the northern rim. Gígjökull continued to retreat until 2015, but then started to readvance and has recovered ~1 km of length through 2024, although overall the Eyjafjallajökull glacier is retreating. Our results are primarily based on aerial photographs from overflights, visits of the investigation area, and different types of remote sensing data. Our studies are critical for understanding how single events can impact long-term glacier development and their recovery in times of global warming.