Saturday - August 23, 2014

That’s A Good Reason

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano began erupting Saturday under the ice of Europe’s largest glacier, prompting the country to close the airspace over the volcano.

Thousands of small earthquakes have rattled the volcano, located deep beneath the Vatnajokull glacier, in the last week. Seismic data indicated that magma from the volcano was melting ice beneath the glacier’s Dyngjujokull icecap, Meteorological Office vulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said.

The remote area, 200 miles east of the capital of Reykjavik, is uninhabited.

The Civil Protection Department said scientists flew over the ice cap Saturday afternoon but saw no visible signs of the eruption on the surface of the glacier.

Still, authorities raised the country’s aviation alert to red—the highest level on a five-point scale—indicating the threat of “significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.”

Icelandic authorities declared a no-fly zone of 100 nautical miles by 140 nautical miles around the eruption as a precaution, but did not shut down air space over most of the island nation in the North Atlantic.

“All airports are open and flights are on schedule,” said spokeswoman Olof Baldursdottir.

A 2010 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused a week of international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled.

Pfeffer said it was not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt through the ice—which is between 330 to 1,300 feet thick—and fling steam and ash into the air. She said it could take up to a day for the ice to melt—or the eruption might remain contained beneath Europe’s largest glacier.

[in case you’re running low on Gloom & Doom news stories]

London Freezing, From a Faraway Land?
Iceland Eruption Could Freeze UK For Years

BRITAIN could freeze in YEARS of super-cold winters and miserable summers if the Bardarbunga volcano erupts, experts have warned.

Depending on the force of the explosion, minute particles thrust beyond the earth’s atmosphere can trigger DECADES of chaotic weather patterns.

Tiny pieces of debris act as billions of shields reflecting the sun’s light away from earth meaning winter temperatures could plunge LOWER THAN EVER before while summer will be devoid of sunshine.

The first effect could be a bitterly cold winter to arrive in weeks with thermometers plunging into minus figures and not rising long before next summer.

The Icelandic Met Office has this week warned of “strong indications of ongoing magma movement” around the volcano prompting them to raise the aviation warning to orange, the second highest and sparking fears the crater could blow at any moment.

The region has also this week been hit by a magnitude-four earthquake - the strongest for almost 20 years, officials said.

The British Met Office said the effects of an explosion on Britain’s weather depends on the wind direction in the upper atmosphere.

Spokeswoman Laura Young said: “If the upper winds are north-westerly it will have an effect on our weather.

“If the upper winds are westerly then it won’t.”

Experts have warned the icelandic volcano could erupt againExperts have warned the icelandic volcano could erupt again [AP]

Historic volcanic eruptions have had devastating effects on the weather in surrounding areas which have lasted for years.

In 1783 eastern regions of the United States recorded the lowest ever temperature after Iceland’s Laki volcano erupted that year.

As well as huge volumes of ash, the furious mountain also spat out large volumes of sulphur dioxide gas which added to the cooling effect.

In Indonesia, the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 led to an unusually cold spring and summer the following year. [referred to in history as “eighteen hundred and froze to death"]

The ice age is coming, the sun’s zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
‘Cause London is drowning, and I live by the river

Posted by Drew458     on 08/23/2014 at 09:39 PM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • International •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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