Continuous measurements of riverine chemical constituents reveal the environmental effect of the 2014–2015 Bárðarbunga eruption in Iceland

The 2014–2015 Bárðarbunga eruption caused one of the most intense and widespread volcanic derived air pollution events in centuries. The volcanic plume was tracked all the way to central Europe. Volcanic gas and aerosol dissolved in precipitation and accumulated as aerosol and snow on land in Iceland. Here we report on the continuous monitoring of discharge and dissolved constituents of a direct runoff river located 85 km from the eruption site during the entire snowmelt period in 2015. Osmotic samplers collected continuous water samples so short-lived flood peaks would not be missed.