Small dust storms are visible east of Mýrdalsjökull, just east of Múlakvísl and Blautakvísl.
At 12 and 13 the weather there was sunny and dry, but a little windy, as can be seen from these maps from the IMO.
No increase in particulate matter at Kirkjubæjarklaustur and Raufarfell; small and very local sources of these dust storms.
Farmers used the still weather to burn dead grass and such in Borgarfjord. This is a behavior which the fire chief in Borgarbyggð is not happy about (see interview).
Satellite image from 14:10, Saturday 21 April 2012. (MODIS image from NASA Rapidfire).
The fire was clearly seen, as seen above, by satellites.
The location of the fires according to satellite data is shown on the Google map above. The label for each of the 3 points shows the time stamp and Fire Radiative Power (FRP) in MW.
Einar Svenbjörnsson hefur skemmtilega lýsingu á reykmekkinum á bloggsíðu sinni.
No ice cover on lake Öskjuvatni is causing some interest. This is clearly seen on satellite images from NASA on 2 April 2012.
Öskjuvatn is the dark spot just to the north-east of the center of the country. Image from 2 April 2012 (NASA Rapidfire).
There aren’t that many possible explanations. It seems unlikely that weather plays a crucial role, other lakes are ice covered that should experience similar conditions. That leaves increased geothermal activity as the most likely explanation. The lake is 220 m deep, so increase in geothermal activity takes a while to show on the surface.
New article in BMJ open about:
In short the conclusions are:
Short-term ash exposure was associated with upper airway irritation symptoms and exacerbation of pre-existing asthma but did not contribute to serious health problems. The exposure did not impair respiratory function compared to controls. Outdoor use of protective glasses and face masks was considered protective against irritation in eyes and upper airway.
Reference:
Hanne Krage Carlsen, Thorarinn Gislason, Bryndis Benediktsdottir, Thorir Bjorn Kolbeinsson, Arna Hauksdottir, Throstur Thorsteinsson, Haraldur Briem. 2012.
A survey of early health effects of the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption in Iceland: a population-based study.
BMJ Open 2012;2:e000343. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000343 (Paper on BMJ Open web site)
On 18 February 2012 there was a clear dust storm stemming from the sandur, Skeiðarársandur, south of Skeiðarárjökull, outlet of Vatnajökull, Iceland.
Satellite image (MODIS) from 13:00 show the dust storm very clearly.
Image courtesy of NASA/GSFC, Rapid Response.
The wind speed (10-min average) was quite high around noon.
Data from DataMarket.
The wind speed reaches around 15 m/s around noon at the station Kirkjubæjarklaustur – Stjórnarsandur, see location on the image below.
Image from GoogleEarth.
