Iceland volcano: What’s going on and what are the risks? | CNN A 15-kilometer- (nine-mile-) long magma corridor now stretches from just northwest of Grindavík into the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Civil Protection Agency, which used models built from data collected in the area on Saturday. If the magma erupts beneath the sea, it will be more explosive than if it erupts on land, experts say, though an eruption on land would be a greater threat to Grindavík itself. “It could become explosive if the magma interacts with sea water,” Michele Paulatto, a research fellow at Imperial College London, said in a statement. “If it erupts undersea, it could cause a Surtseyan eruption similar to the one that happened in 1963, also in Iceland, and created the island of Surtsey. That particular eruption lasted several years, so this is a possibility,” he added. Bill McGuire, Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at University College London, said in a statement that there “is no reason, currently, to think that this eruption will be especially big,” though he noted that “it is notoriously hard to forecast how big an eruption will be.” “The evacuated town of Grindavík is very close to the position of the new fracture, and its survival is far from assured,” he added. “Everything depends upon where magma eventually reaches the surface, but the situation doesn’t look good for the residents of the town.”
When water gets hot enough it turns into steam. The expansion is about 1700 times its volume as steam vs water. That’s one hell of an expansion and explosion under the right circumstances.
these guys get into volcanoes and magma infusion rates etc like some here do for hurricanes. interesting comment section, the geology is beyond me, maybe @littlebluelw could explain it. Grindavik dropping into the sea | VolcanoCafe
I do wonder about whether underwriting will sell you volcano coverage in certain locations. Suspect it is more likely to be a specified exclusion
An entire town may cease to exist. Curious if the government will pay any costs to move less what any insurance doesn’t cover?
I looked at some lots outside of Hana Hawaii one time but you could not get a loan to build because you could not get insurance due to the volcano there
Haven’t seen this thread until you tagged me but yes I’ve been following through various geology websites and the wife and I (both geologists) have been discussing over the past week. The dynamics are fascinating. I could go into specifics but those guys on your links are obviously very knowledgeable of this event so I’d defer to them on their descriptions of this particular event. I’m interested to see if one or more of the sills leaks into the near shore which would apparently cause some serious reaction with the ocean water.
Outlook in Iceland: bleak. Cracks forming in the ground. Steam rising. Earthquake activity. Underground lava flows. Cats and dogs living together . . . mass hysteria! Outlook 'bleak' as Iceland awaits volcanic eruption
Funny I mentioned if it blew it might cool the planet off on the first page and got a come on man. Krakatoa blew in 1883 causing a volcanic winter which cooled the Earth. “The eruption caused a volcanic winter.[17] In the year following the eruption, average Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures fell by 0.4 °C (0.72 °F).[18] The record rainfall that hit Southern California during the water year from July 1883 to June 1884 – Los Angeles received 970 millimetres (38.18 in) and San Diego660 millimetres (25.97 in)[19] – has been attributed to the Krakatoa eruption.[20] There was no El Niño during that period as is usual when heavy rain occurs in Southern California,[21] but many scientists doubt that there was a causal relationship.[22][failed verification] The eruption injected a tremendous amount of sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas high into the stratosphere, which was subsequently transported by high-level winds all over the planet. This led to a global increase in sulphuric acid (H2SO4) concentration in high-level cirrus clouds. The resulting increase in cloud reflectivity (or albedo) reflected more incoming light from the sun than usual and cooled the entire planet until the sulphur fell to the ground as acid precipitation.[23]”
Yep, if that happens the solar panels will become next to useless, and we will be scrambling to build coal and nuclear plants before the electrical cars (like mine) also become useless.
If a super volcano blows solar panels will be the least of our problems. Ability to grow sufficient food supply will be among the highest.
I don't think any of Iceland's volcanoes has a history of a Krakatoa-level eruption. Krakatoas and Yellowstones are extremely rare.
