Edinburgh, no stranger to an occasional haze, skilled an unprecedented atmospheric occasion on 31 Could, in contrast to any seen over the previous 30 years. Whereas sea haar from the North Sea typically blankets Scotland’s capital, the haze noticed that Friday felt distinctively completely different. UKCEH researchers are at present investigating if this haze may be attributed to a volcanic plume that transited the UK following an eruption in Iceland.
A brand new fissure eruption occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, the fifth eruption in a collection that started in December 2023 close to the city of Grindavik. Initially deemed a neighborhood concern as a consequence of its non-explosive nature, the eruption’s affect on UK’s air high quality was regarded as minimal. Nonetheless, meteorological circumstances triggered sulphur dioxide (SO2) ranges in Scotland to rocket to ranges not witnessed for the reason that Nineteen Seventies on the morning of 31 Could.
The Scottish Atmosphere Safety Company’s (SEPA) nationwide volcanic emissions community first detected a rise in SO2 on the Isle of Lewis on the night of 30 Could. Through the early hours, the plume moved southward, peaking in Scotland’s Central Belt by 6 am on 31 Could. St Leonard’s in Edinburgh reported a most focus of 1161 µg m-3.
Utilizing a mix of observations and modelling information, UKCEH researchers have been capable of pinpoint the excessive SO2 ranges, making it extremely probably that the elevated ranges may very well be attributed to the Icelandic volcano. The UKCEH’s EMEP4UK atmospheric chemistry transport laptop mannequin software confirmed the sequence of occasions, indicating that if the eruption had occurred in another way, the SO2emissions might need missed the UK solely.
What distinguished this from earlier occasions is that considerably larger concentrations of SO2 have been recorded than beforehand reported within the UK, surpassing these of earlier Icelandic eruptions in recent times. Alongside excessive SO2, the volcanic plume comprised a combination of different gases, our researchers at the moment are investigating the composition of the plume in additional element.
Ought to we be involved?
Whereas this occasion exceeded air high quality aims for 10 hours in Edinburgh, it didn’t breach office publicity limits or pose a major well being danger. Our modelling effort helped predict that this plume would move quickly over the UK. By means of chemical reactions, sulphur dioxide can contribute to the formation of small airborne particles (PM2.5) which can be dangerous to human well being. Measurement and mannequin outcomes point out that PM2.5 concentrations stayed effectively beneath ranges of concern throughout this occasion.
Ecosystems are additionally susceptible to sulphur dioxide. Nonetheless, once more the short-lived nature of the plume implies that harm is prone to have been minimal.
This occasion will give us invaluable insights into how effectively we are able to predict the impacts of volcanic eruptions on human well being and our surroundings. This helps us each to reply at quick discover, and to be ready for future eruptions.
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