Two weather radar time series of the altitude of the volcanic plume during the May 2011 eruption of Grímsvötn, Iceland

Abstract

The eruption of Grímsvötn volcano in Iceland in 2011 lasted for a week, 21-28 May. The eruption was explosive and peaked during the first hours, with the eruption plume reaching 20-25 km altitude. The height of the plume was monitored every 5 min with a C-band weather radar located at Keflavík International Airport and a mobile X-band radar, 257 km and 75 km distance from the volcano respectively. In addition, photographs taken during the first half-hour of the eruption give information regarding the initial rise. Time series of the plume-top altitude were constructed from the radar observations. This paper presents the two independent radar time series. The series have been cross validated and there is a good agreement between them.