Friday 3 August 2012

Would a volcano scotch the wedding?




Oh, probably. It’s out of our hands, so don’t worry about it. Bill, Laurie, and I were on a trip a couple of years ago when Eyjafjallajökull (pron.) blew and it took us a week or more to re-route. On the other hand, the next year Grímsvötn (pron.) barfed even more ash into the sky, but favorable winds caused it to not be a problem.

On the third hand, every time Eyjafjallajökull erupts, the much larger Katla erupts a few months later. On yet a fourth hand, it's now way overdue and so perhaps nothing may happen. On a fifth and final hand, some seismic activity was recently reported near Katla, and when it goes, it can go very big. So can Grímsvötn, which is connected to a fissure system called Laki.

Wikipedia cheerfully says
The system erupted over an eight-month period between 1783 and 1784 from the Laki fissure and the adjoining Grímsvötn volcano, pouring out an estimated 14 km3 (3.4 cu mi) of basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds that killed over 50% of Iceland's livestock population, leading to a famine that killed approximately 25% of the island's human population.[4]
The Laki eruption and its aftermath caused a drop in global temperatures, as sulfur dioxide was spewed into the Northern Hemisphere. This caused crop failures in Europe and may have caused droughts in India. The eruption has been estimated to have killed over six million people globally,[5] making the eruption the deadliest in historical times.
... The meteorological impact of Laki continued, contributing significantly to several years of extreme weather in Europe. In France a sequence of extremes included a surplus harvest in 1785 that caused poverty for rural workers, accompanied by droughts and bad winters and summers, including a violent hailstorm in 1788 that destroyed crops. These events contributed significantly to a build-up of poverty and famine that may have contributed to the French Revolution in 1789.

Why does all this happen? Because the country straddles two tectonic plates. It’s is being yanked apart.


So the the land is physically very young and geothermally active. On the one hand, you get free hot water, steamy landscapes, the bizarre chance to scuba in the rift, and the ability to grow bananas at the Arctic Circle. As you drive around the country, the young basaltic geology and rural heritage combine to produce a common sight I call “cute little farm on the Moon.”


The volcanic threat, though, will turn this into “cute little farm in the Apocalypse.”



Frankly, though, I’m much more worried it’ll rain. Bring an umbrella and a plastic poncho.


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