"Imminent" Iceland volcano eruption sparks global disaster fears

Friday, 2 December 2011

Imminent Iceland volcano eruption sparks global disaster fears

by Alice Monroe

REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Scientists in Iceland are closely monitoring seismic activities in the vicinity of the Katla volcano in south-western Iceland.

Within the last month, there have been more than 500 tremors hundreds of metres below one of Iceland's largest glaciers - suggesting magma movement which is likely to lead to an eruption.

Unlike last year's eruption of the nearby Eyjafjallajokull volcano which brought air traffic to a halt across Europe, the looming eruption of Katla is likely to be much more powerful. Scientists say it could be the most powerful volcanic eruption Iceland has seen in almost a century.

Measuring 220 square miles, Katla is the fourth-largest volcano in the world. It has the potential to cause catastrophic flooding as it melts the frozen surface which surrounds the area sending billions of gallons of water into the Atlantic Ocean.

Katla has a long history of large, destructive eruptions.

An eruption in 1755 produced volumes of water that was equal to all the world's rivers combined.

The last big eruption took place in 1918 and lasted for 24 days, causing a meltdown so powerful that icebergs were washed away in the resulting floods. The volcano erupts every 40-80 years, and a new eruption is overdue.

Professor Pall Einarsson of the Iceland University Institute of Earth Sciences said in an interview with the BBC: The possibility [of] a larger eruption cannot be excluded," he explained. "Katla is a very active and versatile volcano. It has a long history of large eruptions, some of which have caused considerable damage."

A major volcanic eruption can cause global climate change.

Whilst scientists are monitoring the Katla area for further signs of an imminent eruption, the South Iceland tourism industry is adamant that people should not avoid visiting Iceland. There is always the threat of an eruption in Iceland and they very often come as a complete surprise, they argue.

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