According to Iceland Met a total of 2,198 lightings were recorded in the Grímsvötn eruption between midnight and 1 AM this morning. In the Eyjafjallajökull eruption last year 22 lightings were the record, measured between 8 and 9 AM on May 16, 2010.
In the first 15 hours more than 15 thousand lightings have been measured, but in 39 days last year 790 lightings were recorded in the same system. Research indicates that lightings occur when the smoke is so high that the water it contains freezes.
Yesterday the smoke reached 20 kilometers but had only risen to 15 kilometers this morning and is currently between 10 and 11 kilometers.
According to mbl.is the eruption is in almost the same point as in 2004. The last two eruptions were followed by a flood, but since a flood came from Grímsvötn in 2010, scientists do not expect a huge flood now.
Please note: The next issue of the print edition of Iceland Review will include extensive coverage of the eruption. If you subscribe now, you will receive a photo book by IR editor/photographer Páll Stefánsson of the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull as a gift.
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