Gradual caldera collapse at Bárdarbunga volcano, Iceland, regulated by lateral magma outflow

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Gudmundsson, Magnús T., Jónsdóttir, Kristín, Hooper, Andrew, Holohan, Eoghan P., Halldórsson, Sæmundur A., Ófeigsson, Benedikt G., Cesca, Simone, Vogfjörd, Kristín S., Sigmundsson, Freysteinn, Högnadóttir, Thórdís, Einarsson, Páll, Sigmarsson, Olgeir, Jarosch, Alexander H., Jónasson, Kristján, Magnússon, Eyjólfur, Hreinsdóttir, Sigrún, Bagnardi, Marco, Parks, Michelle M., Hjörleifsdóttir, Vala, Pálsson, Finnur, Walter, Thomas R., Schöpfer, Martin P. J., Heimann, Sebastian, Reynolds, Hannah I., Dumont, Stéphanie, Bali, Eniko, Gudfinnsson, Gudmundur H., Dahm, Torsten, Roberts, Matthew J., Hensch, Martin, Belart, Joaquín M. C., Spaans, Karsten, Jakobsson, Sigurdur, Gudmundsson, Gunnar B., Fridriksdóttir, Hildur M., Drouin, Vincent, Dürig, Tobias, Aðalgeirsdóttir, Guðfinna, Riishuus, Morten S., Pedersen, Gro B. M., van Boeckel, Tayo, Oddsson, Björn, Pfeffer, Melissa A., Barsotti, Sara, Bergsson, Baldur, Donovan, Amy, Burton, Mike R., Aiuppa, Alessandro
• Other Authors: European Community's Seventh Framework Programme
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2016
• Subjects: Holuhraun; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf8988; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.aaf8988

Driven to collapse Volcanic eruptions occur frequently, but only rarely are they large enough to cause the top of the mountain to collapse and form a caldera. Gudmundsson et al. used a variety of geophysical tools to monitor the caldera formation that accompanied the 2014 Bárdarbunga volcanic eruption in Iceland. The volcanic edifice became unstable as magma from beneath Bárdarbunga spilled out into the nearby Holuhraun lava field. The timing of the gradual collapse revealed that it is the eruption that drives caldera formation and not the other way around. Science , this issue p. 262