Iceland's largest volcano about to erupt

eruption volcano lava and water

It would not be a topic of interest today, if it were just another volcano that is about to erupt, but the fact is that we are talking about Bardarbunga, the largest volcano in Iceland. With a height of 2009 meters above sea level, it had its last eruption in August 2014. Recent seismic signals are announcing that an imminent eruption is possible.

Monitored by geologists constantly after the large amount of seismic activity, it is indicating that the pressure inside the caldera is increasing. The magnitudes of the Bardarbunga caldera have 70 square kilometers, a width of 10 kilometers, and a depth of 700 meters. Due to its great height and location, the volcano is covered in ice and the crater hidden under it.

The experts on alert

Bardarbunga volcano Iceland lava eruption

Geophysicist Páll Einarsson, from the University of Iceland, commented that the reason that earthquakes are occurring in this area is because the volcano is inflating. That is, the pressure of the magma in the chamber is increasing. This indicator, according to Einarsson, is the signal that the volcano will erupt, in a short period of time, and may occur in the coming years. The earthquakes by themselves do not cause the eruption, but they are indicators of the process.

The signals began in February 2015, at which time its last eruption also ceased. As now, that last eruption in 2014 was also preceded by earthquakes, which began in 2007. What is also certain is that the air chaos it would cause would have significant costs. To understand it, just look at the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, which in 2010 threw thousands of tons of mineral ash into the air, and 10 million passengers did not take the flight. In total of those dates, it is estimated that for the European economy the cost was 4.900 billion dollars.


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