Volcanoes terrify and attract a person. They can sleep for centuries. An example is the recent history of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. People cultivate fields on the slopes of fiery mountains, conquer their peaks, build houses. But sooner or later the fire-breathing mountain will wake up, bring destruction and misfortune.
It is the sixth largest glacier in Iceland, located in the south, 125 km east of Reykjavik. Under it and partly under the neighboring Myrdalsjökull glacier is a conical volcano.
The height of the top of the glacier is 1666 meters, its area is about 100 km². The volcanic crater reaches a diameter of 4 km. Five years ago its slopes were covered with glaciers. The nearest settlement is Skougar, located in the south of the glacier. The Skogau River starts from here, with famous waterfall Skogafoss.
Eyjafjallajokull - origin of the name
The name of the volcano comes from three Icelandic words that mean an island, a glacier and a mountain. This is probably why it is so difficult to pronounce and poorly remembered. According to linguists, only a small part of the Earth's inhabitants can pronounce this name correctly - Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Translated from Icelandic sounds literally as "the island of mountain glaciers."
A volcano without a name
As such, the phrase "Eyjafjallajokull volcano" entered the world lexicon in 2010. This is funny, considering that in fact, a fire-breathing mountain with such a name does not exist in nature. Iceland has many glaciers and volcanoes. The latter are about thirty on the island. A fairly large glacier is located 125 kilometers from Reykjavik, in the south of Iceland. It was he who shared his name with the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.
It is under it that there is a volcano, which has not been named for many centuries. He's nameless. In April 2010, he alarmed the whole of Europe, for a time becoming a world newsmaker. In order not to name it in the media, it was proposed to name it after the glacier - Eyjafjallajokull. In order not to confuse our readers, we will call it the same.
Description
Eyjafjallajokull is a typical stratovolcano. In other words, its cone is formed by numerous layers of solidified mixture of lava, ash, stones, etc.
The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull has been active for 700 thousand years, but since 1823 it has been classified as sleeping. This suggests that no eruptions have been recorded since the beginning of the 19th century. The state of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano did not give scientists special reasons for concern. They found that it has erupted several times over the past millennium. True, these manifestations of activity could be classified as calm - they did not pose a danger to people. According to documents, recent eruptions were not distinguished by large emissions of volcanic ash, lava and hot gases.
Irish volcano Eyjafjallajokull - the story of one eruption
As already mentioned, after the eruption in 1823, the volcano was recognized as dormant. At the end of 2009, seismic activity increased in it. Until March 2010, there were about a thousand earthquakes with a magnitude of 1-2 points. This excitement occurred at a depth of about 10 km.
In February 2010, employees of the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, using GPS measurements, recorded a displacement of the earth's crust by 3 cm to the southeast in the glacier region. Activity continued to grow and reached its maximum by March 3 - 5. At this time, up to three thousand aftershocks were recorded per day.
Waiting for the eruption
From the dangerous zone around the volcano, the authorities decided to evacuate 500 local residentsfor fear of flooding of the area, which could cause the intensive covering the volcano of Iceland Eyjafjallajokull. As a precaution, closed international Airport Keflavik.
Since March 19, the tremors have moved to the east of the northern crater. They were tapped at a depth of 4 - 7 km. Gradually, the activity spread further to the east, and tremors began to occur closer to the surface.
At 23:00 on April 13, Icelandic scientists recorded seismic activity in the central part of the volcano, west of the two formed cracks. An hour later, a new eruption began in the south of the central caldera. A column of incandescent ash rose 8 km.
Another crack appeared, more than 2 kilometers long. The glacier began to actively melt, and its waters flowed both north and south into populated areas. 700 people were urgently evacuated. During the day, melt water flooded the highway, the first destruction occurred. In southern Iceland, volcanic ash deposits have been recorded.
By April 16, the ash column had reached 13 kilometers. This has caused concern among scientists. When ash rises above 11 kilometers above sea level, it enters the stratosphere and can be transported long distances. The spread of ash eastward was facilitated by a powerful anticyclone over the North Atlantic.
The last eruption
This happened on March 20, 2010. On this day, the last volcanic eruption in Iceland began. Eyjafjallajokull finally woke up at 23:30 GMT. In the east of the glacier, a fault was formed, the length of which was about 500 meters.
At this time, no large ash emissions were recorded. On April 14, the eruption intensified. It was then that powerful emissions of gigantic volumes of volcanic ash appeared. In this regard, the airspace over part of Europe was closed until April 20, 2010. Occasionally flights were limited in May 2010. Experts estimated the intensity of the eruption on the VEI scale at 4 points.
Dangerous ash
It should be noted that there was nothing outstanding in the behavior of Eyjafjallajokull volcano. After seismic activity, which lasted for several months, a rather calm volcanic eruption began in the glacier area on the night of March 20-21. This was not even mentioned in the press. Everything changed only on the night of April 13-14, when the eruption was accompanied by the release of a gigantic volume of volcanic ash, and its column reached an enormous height.
What Caused the Air Transport Collapse?
It is worth recalling that since March 20, 2010, an air transport collapse has loomed over the Old World. It was associated with a volcanic cloud created by the suddenly awakened Eyjafjallajokull volcano. It is not known where this mountain, silent since the 19th century, gained strength, but gradually a huge cloud of ash, which began to form on April 14, covered Europe.
After the closure of the airspace, more than three hundred airports across Europe were paralyzed. Volcanic ash also brought a lot of concern to Russian specialists. Hundreds of flights have been delayed or completely canceled in our country. Thousands of people, including Russians, expected an improvement in the situation at airports around the world.
And the cloud of volcanic ash seemed to be playing with people, changing the direction of movement every day and completely "not listening" to the opinions of experts, who reassured desperate people that the eruption would not last long.
Geophysicists from Iceland's meteorological service told RIA Novosti on April 18 that they were unable to predict the duration of the eruption. Humanity has prepared for a protracted "battle" with the volcano and began to calculate considerable losses.
Oddly enough, but for Iceland itself, the awakening of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano did not have any serious consequences, except, perhaps, the evacuation of the population and the temporary closure of one airport.
And for continental Europe, a huge column of volcanic ash has become a real disaster, naturally, in the transport aspect. This was due to the fact that volcanic ash has physical properties that are extremely dangerous for aviation. If it hits the aircraft turbine, it is able to stop the engine, which will undoubtedly lead to a terrible disaster.
The risk to aviation is significantly increased due to the large accumulation of volcanic ash in the air, which significantly reduces visibility. This is especially dangerous when approaching. Volcanic ash can cause malfunctions in on-board electronics and radio equipment, on which flight safety largely depends.
Losses
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused losses to European travel companies... They claim that their losses exceeded $ 2.3 billion, and the damage hitting the pocket every day was approximately $ 400 million.
The airline's losses were officially estimated at $ 1.7 billion. The awakening of the mountain of fire has affected 29% of the world's aviation. More than a million passengers became hostages of the eruption every day.
The Russian Aeroflot also suffered. During the closing of air lines over Europe, the company did not complete 362 flights on time. Her losses were estimated at millions of dollars.
Experts' opinions
Experts say that the volcanic cloud really poses a serious danger to aircraft... When an aircraft hits it, the crew notes very poor visibility. On-board electronics work with great interruptions.
Formed glassy "jackets" on the rotor blades of the engine, clogged holes that are used to supply air to the engine and other parts of the aircraft, can cause their failure. The captains of the air ships agree with this.
Volcano Katla
After the attenuation of the activity of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, many scientists predicted an even more powerful eruption of another Icelandic fire mountain - Katla. It is much larger and more powerful than Eyjafjallajokull.
For the last two millennia, when a person watched the eruptions of Eyjafjallajokudl, Katla also exploded with an interval of six months.
These volcanoes are located in the south of Iceland, at a distance of eighteen kilometers from each other. They are connected by a common underground system of magma channels. Katla Crater is located under the Mirdalsjökull glacier. Its area is 700 sq. km, thickness - 500 meters. Scientists are sure that when it erupts into the atmosphere, ash will fall ten times more than in 2010. But fortunately, despite the menacing forecasts of scientists, Katla has not yet shown signs of life.
In Iceland, after a 200-year hibernation, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano woke up. The eruption began on March 21, 2010 and was so powerful that a state of emergency was declared in the country and hundreds of nearby residents were evacuated settlements
Russia 1
In Iceland, after a 200-year hibernation, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano woke up. The eruption began on March 21, 2010 and was so powerful that a state of emergency was declared in the country and hundreds of residents of nearby settlements were evacuated.
On April 14, a new eruption began, accompanied by the release of a huge amount of ash into the atmosphere. The next day, a dozen European countries were forced to fully or partially close their air spaces - in particular, flights were canceled at the airports of London, Copenhagen and Oslo.
Eyjafjallajokull (Eyjafjallajokull) means "Island of Mountain Glaciers". The volcano is located 200 kilometers east of Reykjavik between the Eyjafjallajokull and Mirdalsjokull glaciers. These are the largest ice caps in the south of the northern island country, covering active volcanoes.
Eyjafjallajökull volcano is a conical glacier, the sixth largest in Iceland. The height of the volcano is 1666 meters. The crater diameter is 3-4 kilometers, the glacial cover is about 100 square kilometers.
Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where volcanic eruptions occur quite often. Almost all types of volcanoes found on Earth are represented in this country. Ice caps and other glaciers cover an area of \u200b\u200b11,900 square kilometers.
Since many Icelandic volcanoes are covered with glaciers, they often flood them from below. Glacier tongues break loose from their places, releasing millions of tons of water and ice that blow away everything in their path.
It is because of these fears that Iceland has taken such serious security measures since the awakening of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010. In particular, after its March eruption, traffic on nearby highways was stopped and residents were evacuated. Local authorities feared that the volcanic lava would melt the glacier and cause severe flooding.
However, after the research carried out, experts came to the conclusion that the eruption poses no threat to local residents. A few days later, the authorities allowed people to return to their homes.
Volcanologists were able to approach the crater at a distance of several meters and film the eruption on camera, they saw that the crack from which the lava comes out is about 500 meters long. In addition, the filming was carried out from the air. Many have been posted on the popular YouTube video portal.
Here is one of such shooting - a spectacle bewitchingly beautiful and frightening at the same time.
Icelandic scientists have been observing the volcano for a long time, tracking signs of seismic activity. In their opinion, the eruption could last about another year or even two. The last eruption of Eyjafjallajokudl was recorded in 1821. Then it lasted until 1823 and caused the threatening melting of the glacier. In addition, due to the high content of fluoride compounds (fluorides) in its emissions, a threat to health was created, namely the bone structure of people and livestock.
Eyjafjallajökull is a volcano in Iceland, located under the glacier of the same name, the name of which can only be pronounced by 0.005 percent of the world's population. In 2010, a small northern country Iceland decided to remind Europeans of its existence. And she did it in such a way that the message could not be ignored.
The overly active activity of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and the powerful release of ash into the atmosphere led to the cancellation of several tens of thousands of flights. This eruption can rightfully be considered one of the most remarkable events of the past year.
For two hundred years, Eyjafjallajökull was considered sound asleep. Its previous eruption was recorded between 1821 and 1823. - in two years the volcano caused enormous damage to the surrounding area. However, Icelanders are accustomed to such cataclysms. There are several active volcanoes on the island, which periodically remind of their existence. So the eruption of Eyjafjallajökyl did not panic the local population, on the contrary, it provoked a real tourist boom. People from all over the world came to admire the impressive spectacle.
In fact, the volcano that attracted so much tourist attention to Iceland didn't even have a name of its own. Previously, the Eyjafjallajökull glacier was known, located 125 km from Reykjavik and hiding a conical-shaped volcano under it. For simplicity, they began to call it by the same name. Eyjafjallajökull translated into Russian literally means "glacier of the island mountains." The height of the summit is 1666 meters, and the diameter of the crater, which has been hidden under the ice for many years, is 4 km.
Naturally, scientists were observing Eyjafjallajökull, but could not predict the full scale of the upcoming eruption. Much more attention of scientists has always been attracted by the volcano located 12 km to the east - Katla. In the XX century, he was noted for special activity. Consequently, it was popular with tourists visiting the island.
All types of travel are available to fans of exotic in Iceland: auto, walking, and helicopter excursions by air. Only from above can the power of the volcanoes be fully assessed. Apart from the evidence of Earth's fiery breath, Iceland is famous for its rivers, waterfalls and geysers. Acquaintance with them is mandatory tourist program... At the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier is the village of Skogar and the most visited waterfall in the country, Skogafoss, on the Skogau River. The famous tourist routes leading to the Fimmvurduhauls pass between the Eyjafjallajökull and Myrdalsjökull glaciers pass by.
Photo of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.
HEADING: MATRIX
Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Almost all types of volcanoes found on Earth are represented in Iceland. Actually, the country is one big "Vulcanland". Icelandic volcanoes, overflowing with magma, can emit much larger volumes than their mainland cone cousins. Ice caps and other glaciers cover an area of \u200b\u200b11,900 square kilometers.
Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, translated as "The Island of Mountain Glaciers", is located 200 kilometers east of Reykjavik. The volcano is crowned by a conical glacier, the fifth largest in Iceland. Its height is 1666 meters. The crater diameter is 3-4 kilometers, the glacial cover is about 100 square kilometers.
The last eruption in this area took place in 1821-1823, and before that - in 1612.
Eruption is the wrath of the earth!
Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull woke up after 200 years of hibernation on March 21 this year. A violent eruption of a huge cloud of volcanic ash, which rose to a height of 6 km, thanks to sunny weather, began on the night of April 14.
On Saturday, 15th, a column of ash was visible over the volcano - a thick dark gray cloud 8.5 kilometers high. The wind improved visibility in the area of \u200b\u200bthe eruption, and specialists were able to assess the situation from the air for the first time in the past few days.
The incandescent magma changed course and began to flow underground right in the area of \u200b\u200bthe glacier, '' volcanologist Sigurun Hansdottir, who, together with her colleagues from the University of Iceland, has been observing the activity of the volcano over the past three months, told reporters. The mixture of magma and ice is explosive, so incessant explosions occur at the bottom of the crater. The ashfall layer is up to 3 cm. Volcanic ash is solid particles ranging in size from 1 to 1000 microns. The volcano releases toxic gases, the evaporation of which people may not even notice. Now the volcano emits sulfur, fluorine, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The latter is odorless and deadly gas.
Thousands of hectares of land east of the crater are covered in thick ash.
While it is impossible to study what is happening with Eyjafjallajokull in the immediate vicinity. Scientific equipment cannot be delivered to the site, as the ash cloud prevents approaching the crater. It is not known exactly how much of the emitted substances enters the atmosphere. During the day, according to experts, about four million tons of volcanic substances are released
Nevertheless, brave volcanologists were able to approach the crater at a distance of several meters and record the eruption on camera. They saw that the crack from which the lava is coming out is about 500 meters long.
On the 15th, Professor of Geophysics at the University of Iceland, Magnus Tumi Gudmundson, noted that the volcano has intensified its activity.
Scientists will try to fly around the crater to find out how much ice has melted on it. It depends on how long the volcano will spew ash. These data are provided by the Republican Center for Radiation Control and Environmental Monitoring from the London Calculation Center. Information is updated every six hours.
A stormy correspondence began on the Internet - the Earth is angry with people and sends them a warning - come to your senses, live peacefully, destroy weapons, stop destroying nature, get rid of the unforgivable sins of murder, greed and pride!
AIRCRAFT - THREATS
Once in the engine combustion chamber, they melt and re-solidify in the cold parts, which can disrupt the operation of the turbine.
Ash, which is a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles, is extremely dangerous for aircraft engines, especially jet engines.
Volcanic ash consists of glass particles less than 2 millimeters in size, explains aviation engineer Igor Vasenkov. - The particles are very hard. They act on parts like an abrasive. First, the compressor elements are damaged. They melt in combustion chambers, clogging them. And they stick further on the turbine blades. The motors can eventually stop. Peroclastic, so-called glassy substances, which are present in the ash, are dangerous for the working mechanisms.
In addition, large amounts of ash are deposited on the wings and fuselage of the aircraft. The third big danger is that the Icelandic volcano is basaltic, and during its eruption a significant amount of sulfur and chlorine is released. Sulfur as a low-melting element, when it comes into contact with hot parts of the aircraft, mixed with ash, forms a mass that can even disrupt the movement of the turbine blades.
The trajectory of the volcanic eruptive cloud coincides with the trajectory of the air corridors of the aircraft. Therefore, the airports were obliged to stop flights, as the situation could lead to malfunctions of aircraft, to the crash of airliners.
If the wind direction were north, then in general, by and large, no one except specialists would have noticed this eruption.
"This fine dust is very nasty," Stuart John, a professor at the Royal Academy of Engineering and former chairman of the Royal Society of Aeronautics, told the BBC. "It clogs up the cooling air vents and the engines stall."
AIRCRAFT - COLLAPSE
A transcontinental transport collapse has occurred.
On April 15, due to emissions, a number of countries in northern Europe were forced to close airports. And it is no coincidence. Fighters F-18 Hornet air force Finland was incapacitated after flying through a cloud of volcanic ash and dust, shortly before Europe closed airspace.
The aviation crisis, in the very first days, according to the European Commission, affected over 10 million passengers; in the future, this number can grow exponentially.
Later, the airports of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic countries and China were closed.
PROSPECTS
"The eruption may stop tomorrow, but it may continue and disrupt the normal operation of air transport for several more weeks or even months, or even years," said Professor of Geophysics at the University of Iceland, Magnus Tumi Gudmundson.
A volcano can paralyze half the Earth.
In the Russian World Fund wildlife (WWF) warns that the spread of the ash cloud can lead to a cold snap on the earth for two to three years, after which there will be a sharp warming in temperature.
In addition, airborne ash particles interfere with the passage of sunlight to the surface of the earth, which can greatly affect future crops by slowing down plant growth. But volcanic ash is an excellent fertilizer for the soil.
70 thousand years ago in Indonesia, the eruption of the super-volcano Toba almost killed the then wild humanity. The ash thrown into the air enveloped the entire planet and triggered a global cooling process. According to scientists, no more than 15 thousand ancestors survived modern man, which laid the foundation for our entire civilization.
The eruptions of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 caused the average global temperature to drop by 3 degrees Celsius. In the following year, there was no summer in both Europe and North America, notes Alexei Kokorin, head of the climate program of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia.
An ash cloud from the Krakatoa volcano, which exploded in 1883, circled the Earth twice. And for several years on the entire planet, the average temperature dropped by several degrees.
The mechanism of "volcanic winter" is as follows: when the concentration of ash particles in the atmosphere is high, they become a screen - they reflect the sun's rays and prevent them from heating the air.
In this case, another negative factor that can affect not only Iceland is the appearance of the so-called ashfall, as a result of which vast territories can be covered with a layer of ash. Forecasters predict that the ash could spread not only to the European part of Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, but further.
Icelandic geophysicist Einar Kjartansson says: “It is possible that ash emissions will continue at a similar rate for several days, or even several weeks. ash"…
Aleksey Kokorin is sure that the volcanic eruption in Iceland will slow down the rise in temperature in the world, and, moreover, for several years at once, but then a sharp warming will begin. After all, it will not reduce the anthropogenic growth of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.
VOLCANO HECLA RUNNING?
Icelandic volcanologists have proposed an even more frightening scenario: the activity of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano may wake up a larger volcano in the vicinity. If Eyjafjallajökull erupts for at least another month, it is very likely that its magma will fall into the craters of its "big neighbor" Katla, which is located slightly to the east. “Katla Volcano has been unusually quiet in recent decades. Therefore, we will not be surprised if an eruption occurs in the near future that is much more powerful than we are seeing now. This will lead to real chaos, ”said volcanologist Hansdottir
PROTECT YOUR HEALTH!
The UK Ministry of Health recommends that citizens not leave their homes - particles of volcanic mud have already begun to fall on the country.
WHO representatives said they do not know for sure whether the ash threatens human health. However, WHO spokesman David Epstein suggested that microscopic particles of volcanic ash are potentially dangerous, as they can cause problems in people with lung disease.
Deputy Arkady Tishkov, Director for Scientific Affairs of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that there is nothing wrong with the eruption for Russia. Yes, the volcano's emissions have entered the atmosphere, and they will affect the climate, and if they fall on the ground in the form of precipitation, they will slightly oxidize the rains and cause problems for people with diseases of the respiratory system and digestion. Tishkov says: "Locally, sour rains may fall, but in the capital there are rains with higher acidity." According to Tishkov, if Moscow falls into the zone of volcanic emissions, then it is necessary to use masks and carry out wet cleaning.
Scientists also fear that a cloud of volcanic ash, which has already covered Europe and paralyzed air traffic over a large part of it, could pose a threat to wildlife. As explained by experts from the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Iceland, the cloud contains high concentrations of fluorite - a mineral that is used, in particular, in metallurgy and chemical industries, as well as in ceramic production. This substance can be extremely dangerous for animals.
VOLCANOPSYCHOSIS
"It's just that the cloud went to the densely populated areas of Europe, that's why there is so much attention to this active volcano. We had more powerful volcanic eruptions in Kamchatka, but there was no such discussion, excitement - cloud emissions occurred in sparsely populated areas or in the oceans," Tishkov said.
According to Tishkov, what is happening now in Europe cannot be called panic in the full sense of the word, but one can already speak of a "definite psychosis".
According to Tishkov, although the volcano, in addition to ash, also emits toxic gases - chlorine-containing, sulfurous, ammonia gases, they can only affect the immediate vicinity.
"There should not be any apocalyptic moods, this is an absolutely ordinary event," Tishkov said. powerful volcanoand the emissions were in relatively low layers of the atmosphere. "
DO NAKED WOMEN PROCESS VOLCANO Eruptions?
One of the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Kazem Sediki, said during a traditional Friday prayer in Tehran that "debauchery, vicious dress give rise to earthquakes, eruptions and other natural disasters."
According to the opposition newspaper Aftab-e Yazd, Sediki said: “Many women dress with their dignity on display. .Cataclysms are the result of human deeds. We have no other choice but to turn to Islam for protection from all these scourges.
NORWEGIAN PILOT THINKS THERE IS PARANOIA
This is stated in an interview with the Norwegian Daglbladet with an experienced Norwegian aviation pilot Per-Gunnar Stensvog from polar Tromso. The 35-year-old pilot believes that the organizations that closed air traffic over Europe are gripped by paranoia and nothing threatens flights.
“We often get black snow from industrial emissions in Germany in eastern Norway, but we continue to fly,” Siensvåg says. The pilot does not see anything terrible and threatening in air pollution with volcanic ash.
FINANCE SING ROMANCE
The volcano with the difficult name caused conflicts in travel companies... Travelers demand a refund. However, most often they get rejections - sorry, force majeure.
The same opinion is shared by Rospotrebnadzor of Russia: the head of the Consumer Rights Protection Department O. Prusakov confirmed that tourists, whose departure was impossible due to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, cannot demand a return from the tour operator. money for unused days in hotels, since the change in the tour dates occurred due to the onset of force majeure.
Airlines suffered billions of dollars in losses.
HIT FOR THE GOLDEN BILLION ECONOMY
First of all, global corporations and cartels will suffer, transporting goods of particular value to them, the safety of which can be most firmly ensured by air transportation. Weapons, drugs, precursors, raw materials and equipment for them, antiques, money, securities - contracts, shares, promissory notes, etc., electronic media with secret information - the results of state and industrial espionage, secret mail , precious metals, radioactive materials and devices, listening equipment, classified chemical materials, including GMOs and dietary supplements, all sorts of prestigious luxury items: crocodile skin, ostrich feathers, jewelry, precious stones, collections of fashionable clothes and shoes, furs, high-quality spices, anti-aging medications that are essential for the elderly rulers of the world, exclusive sex toys, expensive prostitutes, an agent network, members of the billionaire club, high officials of states and the like.
The exploitative system of the world economy is in danger of total collapse.
The fire god showed his face.
The Icelandic volcano is now erupting from three vents. They were contrastingly manifested in the picture taken in the heat rays, and formed a kind of nightmare face - either the devil, or the god of fire. View from space.
Based on materials from Internet media
Olga Olenich
In the spring of 2010, the whole world watched the strongest eruption of the Icelandic volcano with the unusual and fabulous name Eyjafjallajokull. It became one of the most powerful modern history mankind, scientists are still discussing the consequences of this natural phenomenon.
Iceland
it island state often called the Ice Kingdom, it is located between Greenland and Norway in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle. The bulk of Iceland is located on a volcanic plateau, so earthquakes and eruptions are common here. Despite geographical position, the climate in the region is by no means arctic, but moderately cool, with strong winds and high humidity.
Despite the harsh nature, very positive and friendly people live here. Icelandic hospitality is renowned all over the world. Thousands of tourists come to these harsh lands every year to get acquainted with the unique nature and, of course, see the most famous volcano in Iceland - Eyjafjallajokull. After 2010, the flow of people wishing to observe this wonder of the world with their own eyes has noticeably increased.
History reference
Iceland sits at the junction of two continental plates, the Eurasian and North American plates, and is considered the country with the most geothermal springs, lava fields, ice and volcanoes. There are more than a hundred of them, and twenty-five are active. The most popular volcanoes among tourists are Laki and Hekla, they have almost a hundred craters and are a unique sight.
But in 2010, the whole world learned about another attraction of Iceland - the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Photos of lava erupting from under the glacier spread all over the world news feeds, perhaps this event did not have such popularity in the media, if not for the problems with air travel that arose in most of Europe.
Eyjafjallajokull belongs to stratovolcanoes, the cone of which is formed by layers of hardened lava and rock left there after numerous eruptions. Officially, this is not a volcano, but a glacier, the sixth largest on the island, located 125 kilometers from the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. The height of the summit is 1666 m, the area of \u200b\u200bthe volcanic crater is 3-4 km, until 2010 it was hidden under a thick layer of ice. The previous eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano took place from 1821 to 1823, and for two hundred years it was considered asleep.
Prior circumstances
Almost a year before the main events, the glacier was already showing signs of high activity. In 2009, at a depth of seven kilometers, scientists noticed seismological shocks of 1-2 points. They continued for several months, and even a shift of the crust by 3 cm was recorded.
The activity of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano worried the regional authorities, they took the necessary measures to resettle local residents, and the nearest airport was also closed. People were primarily afraid of flooding, since the glacier could begin to melt under the influence of the earth's heat.
Scientists have long observed activity in this area, so casualties were avoided. More than 800 people left the disaster zone. After the studies were carried out, the possibility of flooding was ruled out and some residents returned to their homes.
Chronicle of events
On March 20, 2010, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano began in the late evening. Smoke and ash poured out from the fault that appeared in the glacier, the first emissions were small and did not reach a height of more than one kilometer. After five days, activity had dropped significantly. The reason was that melted water poured into the vent and partially extinguished the hearth.
But on March 31, a new crack formed, and for several days lava flowed abundantly from two holes at once. As it turned out, this was just the beginning. On April 13, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull once again shook from tremors, resulting in a new crack 2 km away, and a column of smoke rose to a height of eight kilometers. On the fifteenth and sixteenth of April, this figure was already 15 km, and the volcanic ash reached the stratosphere, from where the spread of substances already occurs over long distances.
Closing flights in Europe
Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull will go down in the history of the XXI century due to the large-scale consequences of its eruption. Due to its activity, flights have been suspended in dozens of countries. Companies incurred losses, thousands of passengers huddled in air terminals and in the homes of caring people.
Events in Iceland have had a major impact on the revision of some laws and regulations governing air travel in such situations. Many companies said that a computer program that calculates the risks from flights in the ash spread zone is questionable, moreover, they accused the heads of European countries of deliberately inflating the problem and helplessness in making important decisions.
Effects
In addition to economic damage, the volcano in Iceland Eyjafjallajökull has caused serious environmental damage. In the first three days, about 140 million cubic meters of dust were released into the atmosphere. When erupting together with particles of earth rocks, ash is thrown into the air a huge amount of suspended particles or aerosols. The danger of such a substance is that it quickly spreads over a long distance and has a detrimental effect on the composition of the atmosphere, absorbing part of the solar radiation.
Although geophysicists and meteorologists did not support the general panic that erupted in the pages of some newspapers. According to scientists, the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull was not so powerful that the emissions could somehow lead to climate change, maximum - to affect the weather. So, long and thick clouds were observed over many thousands of kilometers from the island, even in Russia.
Ash spread
The course of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was recorded from space, and daily the meteorological services made a forecast of the movement of the dust cloud. In mid-April 2010, ash covered more than half of Europe and some regions of Russia. Officially, the Roshydrometeorological Center did not confirm the assumption that particles of dust and volcanic matter reached the territory of our country. True, eyewitnesses claim that the ashes could be easily detected with a sheet of paper laid on the windowsill.
The ejected dust was a fine-grained volatile tephra, some of which settled near the vent and on the glacier, but the bulk rose into the air. However, experts assured the public that the gases released into the atmosphere do not pose a serious threat to humans.
Only almost a month after the start of the events, the media of all countries reported that the Eyjafjallajokull volcano finally stopped its activity. The eruption of 2010 was remembered primarily not for its uniqueness, because something like this happens on earth all the time, namely for the increased attention to this event in the news and newspapers.
The volcano in Iceland Eyjafjallajokull, whose photo appeared on the covers of many publications seven years ago, has a special history. Such a complex name comes from the combination of three words at once, denoting a mountain, a glacier and an island. And in fact, the name belongs to the glacier, under which the volcano was located for a long time. In connection with the events of 2010, linguists became interested in the origin and meaning of the toponym different countriestrying to determine the exact meaning of the word.
After the hype about the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano subsided, the scientific world started talking about another possible problem that could lead to much greater consequences. We are talking about Mount Katla, which is located just 12 km from the epicenter of the 2010 underground explosion. Geophysicists' research confirms that each previous activity of Eyjafjallajokudl preceded the eruption of the much more powerful and destructive volcano Katla. Therefore, scientists have suggested that the events of seven years ago may be the beginning of a more grandiose catastrophe in the future.
There are many more places in this region where nature can surprise you. So, a few hundred kilometers away is the only active volcano in Norway. Eyjafjallajokull and Berenberg (translated as "Bear Mountain") are similar in structure and physical data. The northernmost volcano in the world was also considered extinct for a long time, but in 1985 a strong eruption was recorded.
Reflection in culture
Today, the story of seven years ago on the distant island of Iceland has been somewhat forgotten, but at the same time this event made a strong impression on many, because not every day you can see a real volcano erupting live. Society reacted differently to the event. Videos appeared on the Internet in which people tried to pronounce an unusual name, and people composed anecdotes on this topic.
National Geographic has filmed a documentary about the events of the spring of 2010, and some feature films are related to the Icelandic volcano, such as the French film Volcano of Passion and some episodes of the American-made film The Walter Mitty Story.
Perhaps the sweetest note in the craze for the Icelandic phenomenon of nature was brought by a native of this country, singer Eliza Geirsdottir Newman. She composed a perky song about Eyjafjallajokull, which helps to learn how to pronounce the exotic name correctly.
