tagged w/ iceland volcano
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Hundreds of metres under one of Iceland's largest glaciers there are signs of an imminent volcanic eruption that could be one of the most powerful the country has seen in almost a century.
Mighty Katla, with its 10km (6.2 mile) crater, has the potential to cause catastrophic flooding as it melts the frozen surface of its caldera and sends billions of gallons of water surging through Iceland's east coast and into the Atlantic Ocean.
"There has been a great deal of seismic activity," says Ford Cochran, the National Geographic's expert on Iceland.
"There have been more than 500 tremors in and around the caldera of Katla just in the last month, which suggests the motion of magma. And that certainly suggests an eruption may be imminent."
Scientists in Iceland have been closely monitoring the area since 9 July, when there appears to have been some sort of disturbance that may have been a small eruption.
Eruption 'long overdue'
Even that caused significant flooding, washing away a bridge across the country's main highway and blocking the only link to other parts of the island for several days.
"The July 9 event seems to mark the beginning of a new period of unrest for Katla, the fourth we know in the last half century," says Professor Pall Einarsson, who has been studying volcanoes for 40 years and works at the Iceland University Institute of Earth Sciences.
"The possibility that it may include a larger eruption cannot be excluded," he continues. "Katla is a very active and versatile volcano. It has a long history of large eruptions, some of which have caused considerable damage."
The last major eruption occurred in 1918 and caused such a large glacier meltdown that icebergs were swept by the resulting floods into the ocean.
The volume of water produced in a 1755 eruption equalled that of the world's largest rivers combined.
Thanks to the great works of historic literature known as the Sagas, Iceland's volcanic eruptions have been well documented for the last 1,000 years.
But comprehensive scientific measurements were not available in 1918, so volcanologists have no record of the type of seismic activity that led to that eruption.
All they know is that Katla usually erupts every 40 to 80 years, which means the next significant event is long overdue.
More at the linkHundreds of metres under one of Iceland's largest glaciers there are signs of an... more
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pdy
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added this
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6 months ago
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Newest update about Katla in Iceland
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Lots of activity at Katla...
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Another big update about Katla. 13 quakes in the area in 24 hrs.
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6 new earthquakes at Katla today!
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Brits wanting a souvenir of the volcanic ash cloud of doom that brought UK air travel to a halt can pick up a 160g jar of the stuff for around £75 on the internet.
The dark grey ash in sealed glass containers is available on the nammi.is website.
The seller, Sofus Gustavsson, says he is giving all his profits to the local ICESAR safety organisation, which has been helping with the clean-up operation, trying to shift tonnes of the ash in an effort to restore the areas of Iceland affected.
'I got the idea from a friend who lives abroad who asked me to send him some ash in an envelope and I thought there must be thousands of people out there who want to remember what happened,' Gustavsson explained.Brits wanting a souvenir of the volcanic ash cloud of doom that brought UK air travel... more
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Host Conor Knighton examines the evidence that Glenn Beck has totally gone crazy in his hilarious skewering of TV's biggest moments from the week. Also includes newscasters' trouble with Iceland's Volcano, Martha Stewart learning to text, and Jerry Springer's new game show.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://facebook.com/infomania.Host Conor Knighton examines the evidence that Glenn Beck has totally gone crazy in... more
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European aviation authorities are finally planning to allow more flights to take off shortly, but the spouting volcano in Iceland continues to cause major disruption to air travel worldwide. Ash from the Iceland volcano continues to cancel concerts, delay sports events and keep even stars like Usher, Adam Lambert and Miley Cyrus grounded.European aviation authorities are finally planning to allow more flights to take off... more
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