22 August 2014

10% of Iceland Closed as Concern Over Volcano Grows

Posted by Dan Satterfield

The evacuation zone in iceland is in the shaded area.

The evacuation zone in Iceland is in the shaded area.

Concern is increasing tonight that the Bararbunga (BOWR-Thar Boon-Ka) volcano may be getting ready to erupt. Earthquakes continue, and these type of quakes indicate that magma (Lava with high pressure gases) is moving beneath the volcano, which is much larger than the one that caused serious air travel disruptions a few years ago. Late today, Icelandic officials declared about 10% of Iceland off-limits, and is evacuating residents, hikers and campers from the no-go zone.

There is an excellent piece on The Daily Kos about the situation (also here), and it’s well worth a read. I’m not an expert on Volcanology, but unless an expert tells me otherwise, this piece seems accurate (and is well done science journalism). I do know that if we start seeing quake above magnitude 4 that could be bad news, and that this volcano in the past has produced eruptions large enough to affect the entire planet’s weather in a BIG way.

You can walk along the the Mid-Atlantic ridge in Iceland. The edge of the North American Plate is on the left. From P Marshall (Wikipedia)

You can walk along the the Mid-Atlantic ridge in Iceland. The edge of the North American Plate is on the left. From P Marshall (Wikipedia)

There is just no way of knowing right now if this volcano will erupt, or if it does, how big an eruption it could be, but there is plenty to be worried about. Iceland itself is splitting apart, because it’s on the mid-Atlantic ridge. The ridge is basically a crack in the Earth that goes right down the middle of the Atlantic. New sea floor is being created here and that is spreading Europe and North america apart by about two inches per year. If you flew to London in 1994 from New York, then your trip was shorter by about 1 meter than it would be now. (somehow I do not hin this explains the rise in trans-atlantic airfares!).

You can monitor the size and position of the quakes under Bararbunga here. (Remember, quakes that are more frequent and larger could mean an imminent eruption). The Link to the Daily Cos story has a map showing how the magma is moving beneath the surface as well.