Iceland Volcano - Eyjafjallajokull

[Astronuc]

Several days ago, a volcano erupted in Iceland.

EYJAFJOLL Southern Iceland 63.63°N, 19.62°W; summit elev. 1666 m
http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm#eyjafjol
background - http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1702-02=
March, 2010- http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1702-02=&volpage=weekly#Mar2010

Update - Iceland's eruptions could have global consequences
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100322/ap_on_sc/eu_iceland_volcano

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Blasts of lava and ash shot out of a volcano in southern Iceland on Monday and small tremors rocked the ground, a surge in activity that raised fears of a larger explosion at the nearby Katla volcano.

Scientists say history has proven that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla follows — the only question is how soon. And Katla, located under the massive Myrdalsjokull icecap, threatens disastrous flooding and explosive blasts when it blows.

Saturday's eruption at Eyjafjallajokull (AYA-feeyapla-yurkul) — dormant for nearly 200 years — . . .

. . . .
Iceland's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, freeing gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the Jet Stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in the British Isles. Crop production fell in western Europe. Famine spread. Some even linked the eruption, which helped fuel famine, to the French Revolution. Painters in the 18th century illustrated fiery sunsets in their works.

The winter of 1784 was also one of the longest and coldest on record in North America. New England reported a record stretch of below-zero temperatures and New Jersey reported record snow accumulation. The Mississippi River also reportedly froze in New Orleans.
. . . .

Ah the good ol' days.

Volcanos of Iceland and Artic neighborhood
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=17&rpage=list

 

[ViewsofMars]

Latest update from NASA:

May 10, 2010 - New Ash Eruptions from Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

After more than a week of relatively subdued activity in late April, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull Volcano began a fresh round of explosive ash eruptions in the first week of May. On the afternoon of May 6, 2010, the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this view of a thick plume of ash blowing east and then south from the volcano. Clouds bracket the edges of the scene, but the dark blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean show in the middle, and above them, a rippling, brownish-yellow river of ash. If you move your mouse over the image, you'll see the image from the morning overpass of the MODIS on the Terra satellite. [View image on the NASA website URL given below. THX!]

Ash clouds like this are impressive to see, and they can have a dramatic influence on air quality and vegetation, including crops. In Iceland, the ash from Eyjafjallajokull has settled thickly on the ground, posing a threat to livestock and wildlife. The risk of engine damage due to ash has grounded European air traffic repeatedly.

Despite their dramatic appearance, however, these ash plumes are insignificant when it comes to long-term affects on global climate. What matters most to the climate isn’t even visible in images like this. For an eruption to have an influence on global climate, the event must be explosive enough to push sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, which is above the altitude where rain and snow occur.

Sulfur dioxide turns into tiny droplets of sulfuric acid. These light-colored droplets cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back to space. Because it doesn’t rain in the stratosphere, the droplets can linger for months or years. Massive eruptions can cool the global average surface temperature by several degrees for several years.

In most cases, though, high-latitude eruptions have little influence on global climate even when they are explosive enough to inject sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere; the reflective particles rarely have a chance to spread around the globe. Stratospheric air generally rises above tropical latitudes, spreads toward the poles, and then sinks back toward the lower atmosphere at high latitudes.

This circulation pattern means that stratospheric particles from eruptions in the tropics have a better chance of spreading all around the world, while particles from high-latitude eruptions are more likely to quickly sink back to lower altitudes. When they re-enter the troposphere, they are rapidly washed out of the atmosphere by rain and snow. Eyjafjallajokull’s high-latitude location means that its eruption probably won’t influence the global climate significantly.

http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2010-05-10

 

[Huyen401]

Wow, this is really interesting! I had no idea that one volcano erupting could have such global consequences. And the fact that Katla usually follows Eyjafjallajokull's eruptions is pretty scary. I hope they are able to monitor the activity closely and give people enough time to evacuate if needed. It's amazing how something happening in one part of the world can have such a widespread impact. Thanks for sharing these links, I'll definitely be reading more about it.