Satellite-derived sulphur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>) emissions from the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption (Iceland)
Abstract. The six-month-long 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption was the largest in Iceland for 200 years, emitting huge quantities of sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the troposphere, at times overwhelming European anthropogenic emissions. Weather, terrain and latitude, made continuous ground-based or UV satellite sensor measurements challenging. Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) data, is used to derive the first time-series of daily SO2 mass and vertical distribution over the eruption period. A new optimal estimation scheme is used to calculate daily SO2 fluxes and average e-folding time every twelve hours. The algorithm is used to estimate SO2 fluxes of up to 200 kt per day and a minimum total SO2 erupted mass of 4.4 ± 0.8 Tg. The average SO2 e-folding time was 2.4 ± 0.6 days. Where comparisons are possible, these results broadly agree with ground-based near-source measurements, independent remote-sensing data and model simulations of the eruption. The results highlight the importance of high-resolution time-series data to accurately estimate volcanic SO2 emissions.