Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which disrupted air traffic in the world: history of eruptions and video. Impact on air traffic in Europe

Scientists record outbreaks of activity of giant and the most dangerous volcano Katla in Iceland, which was silent for almost a hundred years. A volcanic explosion could be so colossal that the volcano would release toxic ash into the atmosphere that could instantly kill more than 200,000 people. Katla is a close neighbor to the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, whose eruption in April 2010 caused the worst aviation collapse since World War II.

Deep under a glacier in Iceland, a massive disaster is brewing. The Katla volcano, popularly known as the “evil witch,” is preparing to unleash its deadly wrath across Northern Europe, experts say.

Katla is a volcano south coast Iceland, one of the largest in the country.

IN this moment Katla is showing all the clear signs of an imminent explosion. It could be so colossal that the volcano would release toxic ash into the atmosphere that could instantly kill more than 200,000 people. Scientists fear Katla will once again plunge Europe into chaos, as in 2010, when the eruption of its neighbor Eyjafjallajökull volcano led to the largest air collapse since World War II. A powerful column of ash practically paralyzed air traffic - millions of people were stuck in Northern Europe from mid-April to mid-May.

In total, 14 eruptions of Katla are known. Previously, the volcano erupted every 50-80 years, but since 1918 it has been silent - during its last eruption it threw five times more ash into the sky than its neighbor Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. Katla's predicted eruption today will be the first in nearly 100 years. Katla is currently emitting between 12 and 24 kilotons of carbon dioxide every day, and the volcano's magma chambers are filling up, signaling an approaching disaster and causing experts to sound the alarm.

Peak seismic activity in Iceland occurs in autumn, which also carries the highest risk of eruptions. The accumulation of magma inside Katla is greatly enhanced by the presence of a glacier on its crater - this acts much like the lid on a giant pressure cooker. The fact that the volcano is hidden under glaciers also makes monitoring its activity much more difficult.

Katla is far from large settlements Iceland, and the eruption does not threaten local residents. One of the main dangers is that volcanic activity Katly can cause powerful melting of nearby glaciers and flooding of neighboring areas with melt water.

Icelanders have a legend about Katla, which dates back more than eight centuries. According to legend, Katla is the name of a hot-tempered and cruel housekeeper at a local monastery, who possessed supernatural powers. One day, when she was accused of witchcraft, the “evil witch” escaped and jumped into the Mýrdalsjökull glacier (which is located above the volcano). An eruption began, destroying the monastery and killing all its inhabitants. Legend warns that one day Katla will return to take revenge.

RUBRIC: THE MATRIX
Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland has almost every type of volcano found on Earth. Actually, the country is one big “Vulcanland”. Icelandic volcanoes, overflowing with magma, can emit much larger volumes than their continental cone-shaped brothers. Ice caps and other glaciers cover an area of 11,900 square kilometers.
The Eyjafjallajokull volcano, translated as “Island of Mountain Glaciers,” is located 200 kilometers east of Reykjavik. The volcano is topped by a cone-shaped glacier, the fifth largest in Iceland. Its height is 1666 meters. The diameter of the crater is 3-4 kilometers, the glacial cover is about 100 square kilometers.
The last eruption in this area occurred in 1821-1823, and before that in 1612.
ERUPTION - WRATH OF THE EARTH!
Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull woke up after 200 years of hibernation on March 21 this year. A violent eruption of a huge cloud of volcanic ash, rising to a height of 6 km, thanks to sunny weather, began on the night of April 14.
On Saturday, the 15th, a column of ash became visible above the volcano - a thick dark gray cloud 8.5 kilometers high. The wind improved visibility in the area of the ongoing eruption, and experts were able to assess the situation from the air for the first time in recent days.
The hot magma changed course and began to flow underground right in the glacier area, volcanologist Sigurún Hansdóttir, who, together with her colleagues from the University of Iceland, observed the volcano’s activity for three years, told reporters. last months. The mixture of magma and ice is explosive, causing continuous explosions at the bottom of the crater. The ashfall layer is up to 3 cm. Volcanic ash is solid particles ranging in size from 1 to 1000 microns. The volcano releases poisonous gases, the evaporation of which people may not even notice. Now the volcano releases sulfur, fluorine, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The last of these is odorless and is a deadly gas.
Thousands of hectares of land east of the crater are covered in a thick layer of ash.
For now, it is impossible to study what is happening with Eyjafjallajokull in close proximity. Scientific equipment cannot be delivered to the site, as the ash cloud prevents them from approaching the crater. It is not known exactly how much emitted substances enter the atmosphere. During the day, according to experts, approximately four million tons of volcanic substances are released
Nevertheless, brave volcanologists were able to come within a few meters of the crater and film the eruption. They saw that the crack from which the lava comes out is about 500 meters long.
On the 15th, Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, noted that the volcano had intensified its activity.
Scientists will try to fly around the crater to find out how much ice has melted on it. This determines how long the volcano will spew out ash. These data are provided by the Republican Center for Radiation Control and Environmental Monitoring from the London Advisory and Calculation Center. Information is updated every six hours.
Stormy correspondence began on the Internet - the Earth is angry with people and sends them a warning - come to your senses, live peacefully, destroy weapons, stop destroying nature, get rid of the unforgivable sins of murder, greed and pride!
AIRPLANES - THREATS
Once they enter the combustion chamber of the engine, they melt and solidify again in the cold parts, which can disrupt the operation of the turbine.
Ash, which is a mixture of particles of glass, sand and rocks, is extremely dangerous for aircraft engines, especially jet engines.
Volcanic ash consists of glass particles less than 2 millimeters in size, explains aircraft engineer Igor Vasenkov. - The particles are very hard. They act on parts like an abrasive. First, the compressor elements are damaged. They melt in combustion chambers, clogging them. And they further stick to the turbine blades. The engines may eventually stop. Peroclast, so-called glassy substances, which are present in the ash, are dangerous for working mechanisms.
In addition, large amounts of ash are deposited on the wings and fuselage of the aircraft. The third big danger is that the Icelandic volcano is basaltic, and during its eruption a significant amount of sulfur and chlorine is released. Sulfur, as a low-melting element, when mixed with hot parts of an aircraft, forms a mass that can even disrupt the movement of turbine blades.
The trajectory of the volcanic eruptive cloud coincides with the trajectory of the air corridors of aircraft movement. Therefore, airports were obliged to stop flights, as the situation could lead to operational disruptions aircraft, to airliner crashes.
If the wind direction had been north, then, by and large, no one except specialists would have noticed this eruption.
"This fine dust is a very nasty thing," Stuart John, a professor at the Royal Academy of Engineering and former chairman of the Royal Society of Aeronautics, told the BBC. "It clogs the cooling air vents and the engines stall."
PLANES - COLLAPSE
A transcontinental transport collapse occurred.
On April 15, a number of countries in northern Europe were forced to close airports due to emissions. And not by chance. F-18 Hornet fighters air force Finland's aircraft were incapacitated after flying through a cloud of volcanic ash and dust shortly before Europe closed its airspace.
In the first days, according to the European Commission, the airline crisis affected over 10 million passengers; In the future, this number may grow exponentially.
Later, airports in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic countries and China were closed.
PROSPECTS
“The eruption may stop tomorrow, but it could continue and disrupt normal air transport for several more weeks or even months, or even years,” said Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland.
A volcano can paralyze half the Earth.
In the Russian World Fund wildlife(WWF) warn that the spread of the ash cloud could lead to cooling on the ground for two to three years, followed by a sharp warming in temperatures.
In addition, ash particles suspended in the air interfere with the passage of sunlight to the surface of the earth, which can greatly affect future harvests by slowing down plant growth. But volcanic ash is an excellent fertilizer for the soil.
70 thousand years ago in Indonesia, the eruption of the super-volcano Toba almost killed the then wild humanity. The ash thrown into the air enveloped the entire planet and triggered the process of global cooling. According to scientists, no more than 15 thousand ancestors of modern man survived, who laid the foundation for our entire civilization.
The eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 resulted in a decrease in average global temperatures by 3 degrees Celsius. Over the next year, both in Europe and in North America There was no summer, notes the head of the climate program world fund Wildlife (WWF) Russia Alexey Kokorin.
The ash cloud from the Krakatoa volcano, which exploded in 1883, circled the Earth twice. And for several years all over the planet average temperature dropped by several degrees.
The mechanism of “volcanic winter” is this: when the concentration of ash particles in the atmosphere is high, they become a screen - they reflect the sun’s rays and prevent them from heating the air.
In this case, another negative factor that can affect not only Iceland is the occurrence of the so-called ashfall, as a result of which vast areas can be covered with a layer of ash. Forecasters predict that the ash could spread not only to the European part of Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also further.
Icelandic geophysicist Einar Kjartansson says: "It is quite possible that ash emissions will continue at a similar intensity for several days, or even several weeks. But whether this will interfere with transport will depend on the weather, on which direction the wind will blow ash"…
Alexey Kokorin is confident that the volcanic eruption in Iceland will slow down the rise in temperature in the world, for several years at once, but then a sharp warming will begin. After all, it will not reduce the anthropogenic increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.
WILL HEKLA VOLCANO REVOLT?
Icelandic volcanologists have proposed an even more frightening scenario: the activity of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano could awaken more large volcano, located next door. If Eyjafjallajökull continues to erupt for at least another month, it is very likely that its magma will fall into the craters of its “big neighbor” Katla, which is located somewhat to the east. “Katla volcano has been unusually quiet in recent decades. Therefore, we would not be surprised if an eruption much more powerful than what we are seeing now occurs in the near future. This will lead to real chaos,” said volcanologist Hansdottir
TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH!
The UK Ministry of Health recommends that citizens not leave their homes - particles of volcanic mud have already begun to fall on the country.
WHO officials said they do not know for sure whether the ash poses a threat to public health. However, WHO spokesman David Epstein suggested that the microscopic particles of volcanic ash are potentially dangerous as they could cause problems in people with lung disease.
Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences Arkady Tishkov believes that there is nothing terrible in the eruption for Russia. Yes, emissions from the volcano entered the atmosphere, and they will affect the climate, and if they fall to the ground in the form of precipitation, they will weakly oxidize the rain and cause problems for people with diseases of the respiratory system and digestion. Tishkov says: “Acid rain may occur locally, but in the capital there are rains with higher acidity.” According to Tishkov, if Moscow falls into the zone of volcanic emissions, then it is necessary to use masks and carry out wet cleaning.
Scientists also fear that the cloud of volcanic ash, which has already covered Europe and paralyzed air traffic in a large part of it, may pose a danger to wildlife. As explained by specialists from the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Iceland, the cloud contains large concentrations of fluorite, a mineral that is used, in particular, in metallurgy and the chemical industry, as well as in ceramic production. This substance can be extremely dangerous for animals.

VULCANOPSYCHOSIS
“The cloud just spread to the densely populated areas of Europe, that’s why there’s so much attention to it active volcano. We had more powerful volcanic eruptions in Kamchatka, but there was no such discussion or excitement - cloud emissions occurred in sparsely populated areas or in the oceans,” Tishkov said.
According to Tishkov, what is happening now in Europe cannot be called panic in the full sense of the word, but we can already talk about “a certain psychosis.”
According to Tishkov, although the volcano, in addition to ash, also emits toxic gases - chlorine-containing, sulfur dioxide, ammonia gases, they can only affect the immediate surroundings.
“There shouldn’t be any apocalyptic sentiments, this is an absolutely ordinary event,” said Tishkov. “This is not the most powerful volcano, and the emissions were in relatively low layers of the atmosphere."
DO NAKED WOMEN CAUSE VOLCANO ERUPTIONS?
One of the leaders islamic republic Iran, Ayatollah Kazem Sediqi said during traditional Friday prayers in Tehran that “debauchery and vicious attire give rise to earthquakes, eruptions and other natural disasters.”
According to the opposition newspaper Aftab-e Yazd, Sediqi said: "Many women dress in a way that shows off their assets. This leads to youth straying from the true path, sullying their chastity, initiating extramarital sex in society, which leads to an increase in the frequency of earthquakes .Cataclysms are the result of human acts. We have no choice but to turn to Islam for protection from all these misfortunes.
NORWEGIAN PILOT BELIEVES PARANOIA IS AVAILABLE
This is stated in an interview with the Norwegian Daglbladet with an experienced Norwegian aviation pilot Per-Gunnar Stensvåg from the polar Tromso. A pilot with 35 years of experience believes that the organizations that closed air traffic over Europe are paranoid and the flights are not in danger.
“We often get “black snow” in eastern Norway from industrial emissions in Germany, but we continue to fly,” says Siensvåg. The pilot does not see anything terrible or threatening in air pollution from volcanic ash.
FINANCE SINGS ROMANCE
A volcano with a difficult name has caused conflicts in travel companies. Travelers are demanding a refund. However, most often they receive refusals - sorry, force majeure.
The same opinion is shared by Rospotrebnadzor of Russia: the head of the Consumer Rights Protection Department O. Prusakov confirmed that tourists whose flight was impossible due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption cannot demand a refund from the tour operator Money for unused days in hotels, since the change in tour dates occurred due to the occurrence of force majeure.
Airlines suffered billions of dollars in losses.
A BLOW TO THE ECONOMY OF THE “GOLDEN BILLION”
First of all, global corporations and cartels will suffer, transporting cargo that is especially valuable to them, the safety of which can be most firmly ensured by air transportation. Weapons, drugs, precursors, raw materials and equipment for them, antiques, money, securities, contracts, shares, bills, etc., electronic media with secret information - the results of state and industrial espionage, secret mail are not “going” anywhere now. , valuable metals, radioactive materials and devices, listening equipment, classified chemical materials, including GMOs and bioadditives, various kinds of prestigious luxury items: crocodile skin, ostrich feathers, jewelry, precious stones, collections of fashionable clothes and shoes, furs, high-quality spices, anti-aging medications that are extremely necessary for the elderly rulers of the world, exclusive sex toys, expensive prostitutes, an agent network, members of the billionaires' club, high-ranking officials of states and the like.
The exploitative system of the world economy is threatened with total collapse.

The God of Fire showed his face.
The Icelandic volcano is currently erupting from three vents. They appeared in contrast in a photograph taken in the heat rays, and formed a kind of nightmarish physiognomy - either the devil, or the god of fire. View from space.

Based on materials from Internet media
Olga Olenich

In Iceland, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has awakened after a 200-year hibernation. The eruption began on March 21, 2010 and was so powerful that the country declared a state of emergency and evacuated hundreds of residents of nearby settlements.
Russia 1

On April 14, a new eruption began, accompanied by the release of huge amount ashes. The next day, a dozen European countries were forced to completely or partially close their airspaces - in particular, flights were canceled at the airports of London, Copenhagen and Oslo.

Eyjafjallajokull(Eyjafjallajokull) means "Island of mountain glaciers". The volcano is located 200 kilometers east of Reykjavik between the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers. These are the largest ice caps in the south of the north island country covering active volcanoes.

The Eyjafjallajökull volcano is a cone-shaped glacier, the sixth largest in Iceland. The height of the volcano is 1666 meters. The diameter of the crater is 3-4 kilometers, the glacial cover is about 100 square kilometers.

Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where volcanic eruptions occur quite often. This country contains almost all types of volcanoes found on Earth. Ice caps and other glaciers cover an area of 11,900 square kilometers.

Since many of Iceland's volcanoes are covered by glaciers, they are often flooded from below. The tongues of glaciers break from their places, releasing millions of tons of water and ice that destroy everything in their path.

It was out of these fears that Iceland took such serious security measures after the Eyjafjallajokull awakening in 2010. In particular, after its March eruption, traffic on nearby roads was stopped and residents were evacuated. Local authorities feared that volcanic lava would melt the glacier and cause severe flooding.

However, after research, experts came to the conclusion that threats to local residents the eruption does not represent. A few days later, authorities allowed people to return to their homes.

Volcanologists were able to approach the crater at a distance of several meters and film the eruption; they saw that the crack from which the lava comes out is about 500 meters long. In addition, the filming was carried out from the air. Many were published on the popular video portal YouTube.

Here is one of such filming - a sight that is bewitchingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

Icelandic scientists have been monitoring the volcano for a long time, tracking signs of seismic activity. In their opinion, the eruption may last about another year or even two. The last eruption of Eyjafjallajokull was recorded in 1821. Then it lasted until 1823 and caused a threatening melting of the glacier. In addition, due to the high content of fluorine compounds (fluorides) in its emissions, it created a threat to health, namely the bone structure of people and livestock.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption(also "Eyjafjallajok" at dl"; isl. Eyjafjallajökull) in Iceland began on the night of March 20-21, 2010 and took place in several stages. The main consequence of the eruption was the release of a cloud of volcanic ash, which disrupted air traffic in Northern Europe.

First eruption.

Since the end of 2009, seismic activity has increased in Eyjafjallajökull. Until March 2010, about a thousand tremors with a force of 1-2 points occurred at a depth of 7-10 km under the volcano.

At the end of February 2010, GPS measurements carried out by the Icelandic Meteorological Institute in the area of the glacier recorded a movement of the earth's crust of 3 cm in a south-easterly direction. Seismic activity continued to increase and reached a maximum on March 3-5 (three thousand tremors per day).

Temperature map

About 500 local residents were resettled from the area around the volcano (since the intense melting of the glacier under which the volcano was located could cause flooding of the area). Keflavik International Airport (Keflavik city) was closed.

On March 19, shaking began east of the northern crater at a depth of 4-7 km. Activity then began to spread eastward and rise toward the surface.

The volcanic eruption began on March 20, 2010 between 22:30 and 23:30 GMT. At this time, a 0.5 km long fault formed in the eastern part of the glacier (at an altitude of about 1000 m above sea level, in the direction from northeast to southwest). During the eruption, no large ash emissions were recorded; the cloud rose to a height of about 1 km.

On March 25, due to water from a melted glacier entering the crater, a steam explosion occurred in the crater, after which the eruption entered a more stable phase.

On March 31, at about 19:00 (Icelandic time), a new crack (0.3 km long) opened, which is located approximately 200 m northeast of the first.

Second eruption.

Second eruption, view from the north, April 2, 2010.

On April 13, around 23:00, seismic activity was recorded under the central part of the volcano, west of two erupting fissures. About an hour later, a new eruption began on the southern edge of the central caldera. The ash column rose 8 km. A new crack about 2 km long (in the direction from north to south) has formed. Water from the active melting of the glacier flowed both north and south, into inhabited areas. About 700 people were evacuated. During the day, the highway was flooded with meltwater, causing destruction. IN southern Iceland precipitation of volcanic ash was recorded.

The trace of the April 15 volcanic eruption in a high pressure area over the Norwegian Sea. Aqua satellite image.

On April 15-16, the height of the ash column reached 13 km. When ash reaches a height above 11 km above sea level, it enters the stratosphere with possible transport over significant distances. Significant spread of ash cloud in east direction contributed to the anticyclone over the North Atlantic.

Traces of the volcanic eruption on April 15. Aqua satellite image.

On April 17-18, the eruption continued. The height of the ash column was estimated at 8-8.5 km, which means that the erupted material stopped entering the stratosphere.

Impact on air traffic in Europe.

On April 15, 2010, due to the high intensity of the eruption and ash emission, air traffic was suspended in northern Sweden, Denmark, Norway and northern regions Great Britain.

Due to the high concentration of volcanic ash in the air on April 15, 2010 (the ash cloud rose to a height of 6 km), all UK airports ceased operations from noon, and Danish airports were closed from 21:00 Moscow time. In total, between 5 and 6 thousand flights were canceled across Europe on April 15, 2010.

At the same time, the airspace of Iceland itself and its airports remained open.

Flights to Europe from America and Asia (USA, China, Japan) were postponed indefinitely.

According to estimates of the International Association air transport airlines' daily losses from flight cancellations amounted to at least 200 million USD.

On April 19, the European Airlines Association called for an “immediate review of restrictions and bans” on flights in EU airspace. According to the results of test flights conducted by some European airlines, the ashes do not pose a danger to air traffic. International Association air transport criticized governments European countries for lack of forethought when introducing flight bans. " European governments made a decision without consulting anyone or adequately assessing the risk,– said ICAO head Giovanni Bisignani. – It is based on theoretical calculations, not facts».

According to general director EU transport organization Mathias Root's flight ban was prompted by a computer program of dubious scientific merit that simulates the spread of volcanic ash. He called on EU leaders to consider adopting US safety rules. " On the other side of the Atlantic, airlines would be given one piece of advice - don't fly over a volcano. Everything else necessary measures precautions would be left to the carriers themselves to determine", said Matthias Root.

The volcanic eruption prevented many heads of state from flying to the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and those killed in a plane crash near Smolensk on April 10, 2010.

Distribution of volcanic ash in Russia.

According to information from the Met Office, Great Britain, as of 18:36 on April 18, 2010, volcanic ash in Russia was recorded in the area Kola Peninsula, in the south of the Central Federal District, parts of the Volga, Southern and North Caucasus federal districts, as well as in the northeast of the Northwestern Federal District. St. Petersburg was on the border of the expected spread of ash; according to forecasts, the ash was supposed to reach the city on the night of April 18-19. Volcanic ash was not registered on the territory of Moscow, and its spread was not expected in the next 24 hours (April 19).

According to other information, the first particles of volcanic ash reached Moscow on April 16, 2010. On the night of April 16-17, small particles of ash could be collected on a sheet of paper placed on the windowsill. Examination of the particles under a microscope showed the presence of fragments of plagioclase crystals and foamed volcanic glass.

As Marina Petrova, general director of the weather agency Roshydromet, said on April 19, Russian experts do not observe volcanic ash over Russian territory. Director of the Federal Information and Analytical Center of Roshydromet Valery Kosykh said that data on ash over Russia is based on information from the London Volcanic Ash Monitoring Center. “The main problem is that no one in Russia can measure the concentration of this ash,” he noted.

Volcanic ash distribution patterns.

Ash cloud spread by April 17, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Ash cloud spread by April 19, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Ash cloud spread by April 21, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Ash cloud spread by April 22, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Impact on the environment.

During volcanic eruptions, huge volumes of aerosols and suspended particles are released, which are carried by tropospheric and stratospheric winds and absorb part of the solar radiation. The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines threw so much ash 35 km into the air that average solar radiation fell by 2.5 W/m2, corresponding to a global cooling of at least 0.5-0.7° C, but, according to IGRAN Deputy Director for Science Arkady Tishkov, “ what rose into the air in Iceland has not yet even reached the volume of one cubic kilometer. These emissions are not as large as, for example, those noted as a result of recent eruptions in Kamchatka or Mexico" He believes that the " this is a completely ordinary event", which may affect the weather, but will not cause climate change.

Volcanoes frighten and attract people. They can sleep for centuries. An example is the recent history of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. People cultivate fields on the slopes of the fiery mountains, conquer their peaks, and build houses. But sooner or later the fire-breathing mountain will wake up and bring destruction and troubles.

It is the sixth largest glacier in Iceland, located in the south 125 km east of Reykjavik. Beneath it and partly under the neighboring Myrdalsjökull glacier hides a conical volcano.

The height of the glacier's peak is 1666 meters, its area is about 100 km². The volcanic crater reaches a diameter of 4 km. Just five years ago, its slopes were covered with glaciers. Nearest locality- the village of Skougar, located in the south of the glacier. This is where the Skougau River originates, with famous waterfall Skógafoss.

Eyjafjallajokull - origin of the name

The name of the volcano comes from three Icelandic words that mean island, glacier and mountain. This is probably why it is so difficult to pronounce and difficult to remember. According to linguists, only a small part of the Earth's inhabitants can pronounce this name correctly - the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The translation from Icelandic literally means “island of mountain glaciers.”

Volcano without a name

As such, the phrase “Eyjafjallajökull volcano” entered the world lexicon in 2010. This is funny, considering that in fact a fire-breathing mountain with that name does not exist in nature. Iceland has many glaciers and volcanoes. There are about thirty of the latter on the island. 125 kilometers from Reykjavik, in the south of Iceland, there is a fairly large glacier. It was he who shared his name with the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

It is under it that there is a volcano, which for many centuries has not been given a name. He is nameless. In April 2010, he alarmed the whole of Europe, for some time becoming a global newsmaker. In order not to name it, the media suggested naming it after the glacier - Eyjafjallajokull. In order not to confuse our readers, we will call it the same.

Description

Eyjafjallajokull is a typical stratovolcano. In other words, its cone is formed by numerous layers of a solidified mixture of lava, ash, stones, etc.

The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull has been active for 700 thousand years, but since 1823 it has been classified as dormant. This suggests that no eruptions have been recorded since the beginning of the 19th century. The condition of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano did not give scientists any particular cause for concern. They found that it has erupted several times over the past millennium. True, these manifestations of activity could be classified as calm - they did not pose a danger to people. As documents show, recent eruptions were not distinguished by large emissions of volcanic ash, lava and hot gases.

Irish volcano Eyjafjallajökull - the story of one eruption

As already mentioned, after the eruption in 1823 the volcano was considered dormant. At the end of 2009, seismic activity intensified there. Until March 2010, there were about a thousand tremors with a magnitude of 1-2 points. This disturbance occurred at a depth of about 10 km.

In February 2010, employees of the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, using GPS measurements, recorded a shift of the earth's crust by 3 cm to the southeast in the glacier area. Activity continued to increase and reached its maximum by March 3-5. At this time, up to three thousand tremors were recorded per day.

Waiting for the eruption

From the danger zone around the volcano, authorities decided to evacuate 500 local residents, fearing flooding of the area, which could cause intense covering of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. Closed as a precaution international Airport Keflavik.

Since March 19, shaking has moved to the east of the northern crater. They were tapped at a depth of 4 - 7 km. Gradually, the activity spread further to the east, and shaking began to occur closer to the surface.

At 23:00 on April 13, Icelandic scientists recorded seismic activity in the central part of the volcano, west of two cracks that had formed. An hour later, a new eruption began in the south of the central caldera. A column of hot ash rose 8 km.

Another crack appeared, more than 2 kilometers long. The glacier began to actively melt, and its waters flowed both north and south, into populated areas. 700 people were urgently evacuated. Within a day, meltwater flooded motorway, the first destruction occurred. Volcanic ash fallout has been recorded in southern Iceland.

By April 16, the ash column reached 13 kilometers. This alarmed scientists. When ash rises above 11 kilometers above sea level, it penetrates the stratosphere and can be transported over long distances. The eastward spread of ash was facilitated by a powerful anticyclone over the North Atlantic.

Last eruption

This happened on March 20, 2010. On this day it began last eruption volcano in Iceland. Eyjafjallajökull finally woke up at 23:30 GMT. A fault formed in the east of the glacier, the length of which was about 500 meters.

At this time, no large ash emissions were recorded. On April 14, the eruption intensified. It was then that powerful emissions of gigantic volumes of volcanic ash appeared. In this regard, the airspace over part of Europe was closed until April 20, 2010. Flights were limited sporadically in May 2010. Experts assessed the intensity of the eruption on the VEI scale at 4 points.

Dangerous Ash

It should be noted that there was nothing outstanding in the behavior of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. After seismic activity that lasted several months, a rather calm volcanic eruption began in the glacier area on the night of March 20-21. This was not even mentioned in the press. Everything changed only on the night of April 13-14, when the eruption began to be accompanied by the release of a gigantic volume of volcanic ash, and its column reached enormous heights.

What caused the air transport collapse?

It is worth recalling that since March 20, 2010, an air transport collapse has loomed over the Old World. It was associated with a volcanic cloud created by the suddenly awakened Eyjafjallajokull volcano. It is unknown where this mountain, silent since the 19th century, gained strength, but gradually a huge cloud of ash, which began to form on April 14, covered Europe.

After closing airspace More than three hundred airports across Europe were paralyzed. Volcanic ash also caused a lot of concern for Russian specialists. Hundreds of flights have been delayed or completely canceled in our country. Thousands of people, including Russians, expected an improvement in the situation at airports around the world.

And the cloud of volcanic ash seemed to be playing with people, changing direction of movement every day and did not “listen” at all to the opinions of experts who reassured desperate people that the eruption would not last long.

Icelandic weather service geophysicists told RIA Novosti on April 18 that they were unable to predict the duration of the eruption. Humanity prepared for a protracted “battle” with the volcano and began to count considerable losses.

Oddly enough, for Iceland itself, the awakening of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano did not have any serious consequences, except, perhaps, for the evacuation of the population and the temporary closure of one airport.

And for continental Europe, a huge column of volcanic ash became a real disaster, naturally, in the transport aspect. This was due to the fact that volcanic ash has physical properties that are extremely dangerous for aviation. If it hits an airplane turbine, it can stop the engine, which will undoubtedly lead to a terrible catastrophe.

The risk for aviation increases significantly due to large cluster volcanic ash in the air, which significantly reduces visibility. This is especially dangerous during landing. Volcanic ash can cause malfunctions in on-board electronics and radio equipment, on which flight safety largely depends.

Losses

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano brought losses to European travel companies. They claim that their losses exceeded 2.3 billion dollars, and the damage that hit their pockets every day amounted to approximately 400 million dollars

The airlines' losses were officially estimated at $1.7 billion. Awakening fire mountain affected 29% of world aviation. Every day, more than a million passengers became hostage to the eruption.

The Russian Aeroflot also suffered. During the period of closure of air routes over Europe, the company did not complete 362 flights on time. Its losses amounted to millions of dollars.

Experts' opinions

Experts say that the volcanic cloud does pose a serious danger to aircraft. When the plane hits it, the crew notes very poor visibility. On-board electronics work with great interruptions.

The formation of glassy “shirts” on the engine rotor blades and clogging of the holes that are used to supply air to the engine and other parts of the aircraft can cause their failure. Airship captains agree with this.

Volcano Katla

After the subsidence of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, many scientists predicted an even more powerful eruption of another Icelandic fire mountain, Katla. It is much larger and more powerful than Eyjafjallajokull.

For the last two millennia, when people watched the eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull, Katla exploded after them at intervals of six months.

These volcanoes are located in the south of Iceland, eighteen kilometers apart. They are connected by a common underground system of magma channels. The Katla crater is located under the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Its area is 700 sq. km, thickness - 500 meters. Scientists are confident that during its eruption, ash will fall into the atmosphere tens of times more than in 2010. But fortunately, despite the dire predictions of scientists, Katla is not yet showing signs of life.

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