The lava eruption, located near Iceland's Barðarbunga volcano, is still small and contained underneath a massive glacier for now. But officials are watching closely to see how the eruption evolves.
"It is believed that a small subglacial lava-eruption has begun under the Dyngjujokull glacier," the Icelandic Meteorological Office announced on Saturday, August 23. "The aviation color code for the Barðarbunga volcano has been changed from orange to red":
(Icelandic Meteorological Office)
Since August 16, scientists have been tracking thousands of small earthquakes near Iceland's large Barðarbunga volcano, which is covered by the massive Vatnajokull glacier. The earthquakes were a sign that magma was on the move.
THERE'S BETWEEN 150 TO 400 METERS OF ICE ABOVE THE ERUPTION AREA
Now there appears to be a "subglacial" eruption — which means that lava is coming out of the volcano and melting the ice at the bottom of the glacier. But the eruption hasn't yet broken through the ice to spew ash into the air. The IMO estimates that there's between 150 to 400 meters of ice above the eruption.
How the eruption evolves will depend a lot on how much magma is moving upward — and how quickly. The last big eruption under a glacier took place in 2011, at the nearby Grimsvotn volcano, which was the largest in recent memory and disrupted air travel for days.
Iceland's aviation sector is currently on high alert, although no flights have yet been canceled. If ashdoes break through the glacier and into the air, it could potentially disrupt flights around the area. On the upside, thanks to recent changes in airline policies, it's unlikely that any eruption would be as disruptive as the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption that grounded flights across Europe for six whole days. (Airplanes are now allowed to fly in areas with 4,000 micrograms of ash per cubic meter — so fewer planes will have to stay grounded).
Meanwhile, if the volcano ends up melting a lot of ice in the glacier, that could lead to flooding in Iceland — particularly in the northeast part of the country. Authorities have been warning about the prospect of floods for days now.
첫댓글 산봉우리를 덮고 있는 눈과 얼음이 용암에 의해 녹으면 더 큰 폭팔이일어날수 있다고 합니다.
2010년도에 아이스란드에 한번 화산분화가 잇엇는데 그때보디 더 심할수있다고 함..
아직 한국 기자분들 주무시는지 "최신" 업데이트 한글 기사는 아직 안뜨네요..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28911670