The Eyjafjallajokull volcano, one of Iceland’s largest, had been dormant for nearly two centuries before returning to life in the late evening of March 20. The first sign that the volcano was coming back to life was the angry, red cloud glowing above the vast glacier that covers the volcano.
In the following days, fire fountains jetted from a dozen vents on the volcano, reaching as high as 100 meters, according to the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland. After a few day of spectacular volcanic activity the volcano seemed to return to sleep. Then on Wednesday, the volcano roared back to life sending clouds of ash soaring as high as 11,000 meter and molten lava down the mountain.
The latest eruption caused massive flooding as molten lava ate away at a 200-foot-thick cap of ice that covered some sections of the volcanic fissure. As much as a third of the glacial ice above the crater has melted — it had been up to 250 meters thick in spots — raising the level of a nearby river by nearly a meter and covering some roads. Three large holes have opened in the ice as a result of the eruption. The Red Cross evacuated residents of Hvolsvollur, a town approximately 65 miles from Reykjavik.
The latest eruption is the fourth by Eyjafjallajokull in 1,100 years, volcanologists say. The last one, in 1821, which began with days of explosive eruptions, left deep layers of dark-gray ash through vast areas of southern Iceland — some of it nearly reached Reykjavik — and it caused the Markarfljot and the Holtsa rivers to flood.
In an interesting historical twist, historians believe that the explosion of another Icelandic volcano helped trigger the French Revolution. The Laki volcanic fissure in southern Iceland erupted over an eight-month period from June 1783 to February 1784, spewing lava and poisonous gases that devastated the island's agriculture, killing much of the livestock. It is estimated that perhaps quarter of Iceland's population died through the ensuing famine. The disruption to farming and the death of large numbers of livestock throughout most of Europe caused widespread hunger and much misery.
In France a sequence of extreme events included a surplus harvest in 1785 that caused poverty for rural workers, accompanied by droughts, bad winters and summers, including a violent hailstorm in 1788 that destroyed crops. This in turn contributed significantly to the build up of poverty and famine that triggered the French Revolution in 1789.
European health authorities warned people Thursday to beware of possible health problems from ash falling to the ground. Persons in European countries directly in the path of the ash flow are being encouraged to take precautions, including staying indoors and avoiding all outdoor physical activities.
It seems that the world has entered a cycle of heightened seismic and volcanic activity. Large earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, China, Indonesia and Mexico /Southern California plus the Iceland volcano are indicators of a period of possible future instability. Whether this activity is a presage of more serious trouble to come, or simply a hiccup in the life of the Earth remains to be seen.
Stay tuned and be safe!
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