Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic’s mid-oceanic ridge and has a history of devastating eruptions. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland’s history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth’s plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface. There have been 21 Iceland volcano eruptions since 1963 and Iceland’s high concentration of active volcanoes has contributed to one-third of the Earth’s lava output in the last 500 years.
Last Wednesday, April 14, southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month, sending ash several miles (kilometers) into the air, with winds pushing the plume south and east across Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and into the heart of Europe. Eyjafjallajokull is actually the name of the glacier under which the eruption is occurring is approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of the capital, Reykjavik. It is the fifth largest glacier in the country and has been a cause for concern for many seismologists in recent months. The last volcanic eruption in the Eyjafjallajokull glacier area took place in 1821 and continued for roughly two years, according to the Associated Press.
The latest satellite imagery is showing a plume between 20,000 and 30,000 ft over the North Sea and Denmark. Less than 24 hours after the satellite’s first observation, the volcano was emitting more than one billion watts of energy — enough to power 40,000 passenger cars at the same time — and discharging more than six tons of lava per second.
Because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines if prevailing winds are right. Fears that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail have shut down air space at one time or another over much of Europe.
The Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration ordered aircraft to stay 120 nautical miles away from the volcano area and all domestic flights were canceled until further notice, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reported. The air traffic agency Eurocontrol said about 16,000 of Europe’s usual 28,000 daily flights were canceled on Friday — twice as many as were canceled a day earlier. More than 300 flights out of London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports and others in Britain were canceled, including transatlantic services.
Aviation experts say the volcanic plume has caused the worst travel disruption Europe — and the world — has ever seen. The disruptions hit tourists, business travelers and dignitaries alike. As spectacular as it is, the eruption does not yet appear big enough to cause regional or global effects on the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, with significant changes in the Earth’s temperature.
The Vicious Katla Volcano
“We are concerned that this eruption could trigger the nearby Katla volcano, a bigger and vicious volcano in the much larger Myrdalsjokull glacier that could cause both local and global damage,” said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland’s Institute of Earth Science, Associated Press news agency reported.
Considered one of Iceland’s most dangerous volcanoes, Katla “The Vicious Sister” last erupted in 1918. “Historically, we know of three eruptions in Katla linked to eruptions in Eyjafjallajokull,” Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson, a professor of geophysics and civil-protection adviser, told the AFP news service. Katla has erupted 16 times since settlement in 930, she erupts every 40-80 years, its been 92 years since last time. Scientists say history has proven that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla follows — the only question is how soon.
Further information about the eruptions is available at the Iceland Volcano website at www.icelandvolcano.org
