Small eruption confirmed under Iceland’s Katla volcano

July 9, 2011 – ICELAND – A glacial flood, probably, from the volcano Katla in Mýrdalsjökull has disrupted the Ring Road (highway no.1), by the river Múlakvísl on Mýrdalssandur in south Iceland, tearing the bridge across Múlakvísl. The road is closed between Höfdabrekka, east of Vík, and the river Skálm, near Álftaver. The flood is thought be the result of a small eruption underneath the icecap of Mýrdalsjökull, probably in the Katla crater, ruv.is reports. “At least this is not a large eruption, the Katla eruption people have been waiting for,“ geophysicist Freysteinn Sigmundsson told ruv.is “If it is a volcanic eruption, it is a small event and possibly only geothermal water.” The Civil Protection Department has issued a warning to people in the area, to beware of sulphurate smell near the river, as it might be poisonous sulphurate gas. The mountain route Fjallabaksleid nyrdri is open for 4X4 vehicles only, and is the only open road in the area. The Álftaver area is being evacuated and preparation for evacuating the camping area in Thakgil. In the past few days, people had actually been speculating about an eruption in Hekla, a different volcano in south Iceland. –Icelandic Revie
The home of the Katla volcano is Mýrdalsjökull glacier which is the southernmost glacier in Iceland and is almost 600 km2. It covers the upper part of a large volcano, the Katla caldera. Katla is about 30 km in diameter and the highest parts reach almost 1500 m a.s.l. In the center of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap is the Katla caldera. It is oval in shape with the longest axis NW-SE and covers an area 110 km2. The highest points of the ice cap lie on the caldera rim and include Goðabunga, Háabunga, Austmannsbunga, Enta, Entukollar. Within the caldera the ice is hundreds of meters thick.