Great melt will occur this year in Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajökull in Iceland. This is the result of an expedition by Icelandic scientist recently.
Magnús Túmi Guðmundsson, professor in geography at the University of Iceland, says that the western part of the glacier will melt rapidly. This is due to the volcanic activity in Grímsvötn last year.
Elevation of land near the glacier was also measured a total of 3cm per year because of the glacier shrinking.
The consequences are for example raised levels in glacier lagoons and glacier rivers.
A lagoon which formed after the eruption was researched, which includes a river which was measured 45°Celcius. The lagoon is therefore hot. A few hundred meters was at 25-40° Celsius. Like average bathwater to some.
"The eastern part of the lagoon is also pretty hot, considering it is surrounded by icebergs.
Magnús also notes that ash will continue to blow this summer, especially during the dry season. "People in Reykjavík can often still see ash on their cars, that's ash form Eyjafjallajökull and Grímsvötn. This will take years to stop."
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