The sulphur taste in your mouth will turn into sulphuric acid in your lungs

The Holuhraun eruption is still ongoing, but scientists are setting off to determine if the pressure in the magma chamber has gone down or just moved elsewhere. Right now the primary concern is the presence of gas in the area.

For Icelandic version (TV) see clip above.

Holuhraun was inaccessible on Sunday due to the storm, but even after it has cleared up there is still much wind and sandstorms blocked our view of the fissure, but suddenly we reached the edge of the lava as it pushed forward with snaps and cracking noises.

We saw glowing lava and a river of fire burning over 1000°C, so we couldn't get near the lava due to the heat.

We've looked around for volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson and his team from the Icelandic Institute of Earth Sciences, and we found them driving along the lava's edge to observe its movements and measuring the scale of the lava flow.

Soon we see the craters themselves, and as we drove further we got a better idea of just how much has been spewed out in the 24 hours that have passed since the eruption began.

When we caught up to Ármann, we asked him what he thought of the eruption. "It's the same as yesterday. Lots of lava coming out."

There's a sense of beauty in watching the flaming fissure spew out large plumes of magma that land as glowing blobs of lava. Those who remember the Krafla eruption 30 years ago claim to see a strong resemblance.

"It's like the Krafla eruption in 1984, though considerably more powerful. The fissure has been glowing for more than 24 hours now," says Ármann.

"The biggest plumes we're seeing are 60-70 meters high, but on average they're 20-30 meter high," states Ármann and adds that right now no real predictions can be made about what happens next.

"The eruption has been ongoing for more than 24 hours, for that matter it could continue for a week or a month. To get a better idea we need to use GPS-measurements to see whether the pressure underneath has dropped. Until that happens this eruption can go on for a long time."

Geophysicists are busy with their instruments, often approaching the lava edge to take samples.

"Bárðarbunga is giving us very primitive magma. Not a lot of crystals in it, it's hot and runny. If the lava looks rough it's because it flows so fast once it gets moving," Ármann says.

The area is not safe for people to be at, the amount of hydrogen sulfide coming from the eruption has increased greatly since yesterday.

"You get sulphur taste in your mouth and if we stay here much longer it'll turn into sulphuric acid in your lungs," concluded Ármann as he left to continue his work.