Sunday, April 18, 2010

Another Eruption in Iceland?


The article I read discussed the fact that the recent eruption of a vent on the volcano Eyjafjallajökul (pronounced AY-ya-fyat-la-yo-kult) could be the least of Iceland's worries. There's another bigger, more dangerous volcano called Katla to the east which scientists have been keeping an eye on. In the past Katla has erupted along with the other or on its own. Katla is said to be more dangerous because it is a lot larger, and because it lies beneath a glacier. If Katla were to erupt, there would be a lot of flooding as the ice is melted by the hot lava. Katla would also cause more ash clouds, which we know are a problem to all the air traffic in many countries. The article also described some of Iceland's past troubles with its volcanoes; Iceland is located above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a place prone to volcanic activity. In 1783 and 84 a volcano erupted and spewed out sulfur dioxide and ash, killing thousands of people, and they had a couple of eruptions in the 1960's and 70's. The end of the article did give some good news, as a result of all the ash in the atmosphere people in Europe might be able to see some pretty red sunsets.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/58333/title/Ash_from_Icelandic_eruption_may_just_be_the_start

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