From time immemorial, volcanoes are afraid of and attracted to the person.For centuries, they can sleep.An example is the recent history of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull.People cultivated fields on the slopes of the fiery mountains, they climb the peaks, build houses.But sooner or later wake up fire-breathing mountain, bring destruction and disaster.
As this is the sixth largest glacier in Iceland, located on the south 125 kilometers east of Reykjavik.Beneath it, and partly under the nearby Mýrdalsjökull glacier hides a volcano, having a conical shape.
height of the top of a glacier 1666 meters, its area - about 100 square kilometers.Volcanic crater reaches a diameter of 4 km.Five years ago, its slopes covered with glaciers.The nearest town - skógar village in the south of the glacier.Hence originates Skougau river, with the famous waterfall skógafoss.
Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull -
origin of the name comes from the name of the volcano three Icelandic words that refer to the island, the glacier and the mountain.Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to pronounce and poorly stored.According to linguists, only a small portion of the world's population can pronounce it correctly - the volcano Eyjafjallajökull.Translation from Icelandic sounds literally as "an island of mountain glaciers."
volcano without name
As such, the phrase "the volcano Eyjafjallajökull" entered the lexicon of the world in 2010.It's funny, when you consider that in fact the fire-breathing mountains of the same name does not exist in nature.In Iceland, many glaciers and volcanoes.The latter has on the island about thirty.At 125 km from Reykjavik, in the south of Iceland, it is a fairly large glacier.It was he who shared his name with the volcano Eyjafjallajökull.
It is located beneath the volcano, which for many centuries has not come up with the name.He is nameless.In April 2010, he alarmed the whole of Europe, for a while becoming the world newsmaker.In order not to call him nameless volcano, the media was asked to name his name glacier - Eyjafjallajökull.In order not to confuse our readers, we call it the same way.
Description
Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull is a typical stratovolcano.In other words, its cone formed multiple layers of solidifying a mixture of lava, ash, rocks, etc.
Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland is active for 700 thousand years, but since 1823 it attributed to the category of sleeping.It says that since the beginning of the XIX century eruptions it was not fixed.Special to worry about the state of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano scientists did not deliver.They found that over the last millennium it has erupted several times.However, the activity of these manifestations can be attributed to the calm - they present no hazard to people.The documents, the latest eruption did not differ by large emissions of volcanic ash, lava and hot gases.
Irish Volcano Eyjafjallajokull - the story of the eruption
As already mentioned, after the eruption of the volcano in 1823 recognized asleep.In late 2009, it increased seismic activity.Up to March 2010 there have been about a thousand aftershocks force in 1-2 points.This excitement occurred at a depth of about 10 km.
In February 2010, employees of the Meteorological Institute of Iceland, with the help of GPS-measurements recorded in the area of the glacier displacement of the Earth's crust to 3 cm in the south-east.Activity continued to grow and reached its maximum in 3 - 5 March.At this time there were up to three thousand jolts per day.
Pending eruption
from the danger zone around the volcano authorities decided to evacuate 500 local residents, fearing inundation areas, which could cause intensive melting of glaciers, covering Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano.As a precaution, shut down the international airport Keflavik.
Since March 19 tremors have moved to the east of the northern crater.They were tapped at a depth of 4 - 7 km.Gradually, the activity has spread further to the east, and tremors began to occur closer to the surface.
At 23:00 April 13 scientists Iceland was recorded seismic activity in the central part of the volcano to the west of the two cracks.An hour later, it began a new eruption in south-central caldera.The column of hot ash rose to 8 km.
has another crack length of more than 2 kilometers.Glacier began actively to melt, and the water flowed both north and south to populated areas.Homes were evacuated 700 people.During the day melt water flooded the car track, came the first destruction.In southern Iceland have been fixed deposits of volcanic ash.
by 16 April ash column reached 13 kilometers.This alarmed scientists.When the ash rises to a height of more than 11 kilometers above sea level, it penetrates into the stratosphere and can be transferred over long distances.The spread of the ash to the east contributed to a strong anticyclone over the north Atlantic.
last eruption
It took place on 20 March 2010.This day began the last eruption of the volcano in Iceland.Eyjafjallajokull finally woke up at 23:30 GMT.In the east of the glacier formed the rift, the length of which was about 500 meters.
At this time, there have been no large emission of ash.April 14 eruption intensified.It was then, and there were strong emission of huge volumes of volcanic ash.In this connection it was closed airspace over part of Europe until 20 April 2010.Occasional limited flights in May 2010. Experts estimate the intensity of the eruption of VEI scale of 4 points.
Hazardous ash should be noted that nothing special in the behavior of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull was not.After seismic activity, which lasted several months, in the area of the glacier on the night of 20 March 21 began erupting volcano relatively calm.This is not even mentioned in the press.Everything has changed only in the night from 13 to 14 April, when the eruption was accompanied by the release of huge amount of volcanic ash and its post reached a great height.
The collapse was caused by air transport?
It is worth mentioning that March 20, 2010 over the Old World air transport looming collapse.He was associated with the volcanic cloud that is created suddenly awakened volcano Eyjafjallajökull.Where the strength gained from the XIX century was silent mountain is unknown, but gradually a huge cloud of ash, which began to form from April 14, has covered Europe.
After the closure of the airspace of more than three hundred were paralyzed airports all over Europe.Many alarms delivered volcanic ash and Russian specialists.In our country, we have been detained or completely canceled hundreds of flights.Thousands of people, including the Russians, expecting to improve the situation at airports across the world.
A cloud of volcanic ash like to play with people, daily changing direction and completely "not listen" to experts, soothing desperate people in that eruption will not last long.
Geophysics meteorological Iceland April 18 said, "RIA Novosti" that they are unable to predict the duration of the eruption.Humanity is braced for a prolonged "fight" with the volcano and the start of counting significant losses.
Oddly enough, but most of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano awakening did not have any serious consequences, except, perhaps, evacuation and temporary closure of the airport.
For continental Europe a huge column of ash became a disaster, of course, in the transport aspect.This was due to the fact that volcanic ash has physical properties that are extremely dangerous to aviation.When injected into the turbine aircraft he is able to stop the engine, which will undoubtedly lead to a terrible catastrophe.
risk to aviation at times increased because of the large accumulation of volcanic ash in the air, which significantly reduces the visibility.This is especially dangerous during landing.Volcanic ash can cause malfunction of the on-board electronics and radio equipment, which largely depends on the security of the flight.
losses
eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano has brought losses to European tourist companies.They claim that their losses have exceeded $ 2.3 billion, and damage every day hitting the pocket, was approximately $ 400 million
Losses airlines officially counted in the sum of 1.7 billion dollars.The awakening of fiery mountains affected 29% of world aviation.Every day hostage eruption became more than a million passengers.
victims and the Russian "Aeroflot".During closing of overhead lines over Europe, the company has not complied with within the period 362 flight.Losses of its millions of dollars.
views of experts
Experts say that the volcanic cloud is indeed a serious hazard to aircraft.When hit by the aircraft crew noted a very poor visibility.Onboard electronics working with large disruptions.
formed glassy "shirt" on rotor blades of the engine, clogging of the holes that are used for supplying air to the engine and other parts of the aircraft, can cause their failure.With this agreement, and the captains of airships.
volcano Katla
After the decay of activity of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull, many scientists predicted even more powerful eruption of another Icelandic Flaming Mountains - Katla.It is much bigger and more powerful than Eyjafjallajokull.
last two millennium, when people watched the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, followed by an interval of six months, exploded and Katla.
These volcanoes are located in the south of Iceland, at a distance of eighteen kilometers from each other.They share a common system of underground magma channels.The crater Katla under the glacier Mirdalsyekyudl.Its area of 700 square meters.km, thickness - 500 meters.Scientists believe that during the eruption of ash into the atmosphere fall ten times more than in 2010.But fortunately, despite the ominous predictions of scientists, Katla is no signs of life.
