Volcano blasts continue
Source: Agencies |
April 19, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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POWERFUL tremors from an Icelandic volcano that has been a menace for millions of travellers worldwide rocked the countryside yesterday as eruptions hurled a steady stream of ash into the sky.
Ash from the volcano drifted southeast toward Europe, sparing the capital Reykjavik and other more populated centers but forcing farmers and their livestock indoors as a blanket cover fell on the surrounding areas.
Iceland's Meteorological Office said tremors from the volcano had grown more intense and had increased from a day ago, but that the column of steam and ash rising from the volcano had eased back to 4-5 kilometers from as high as 11km when it started erupting last week.
"We are seeing mixed signals," said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the office.
One positive sign in the area is that there was no immediate threat of further flooding.
The eruption is taking place under Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier, normally a popular hiking ground about 120km southeast of Reykjavik.
Kjartansson believes the volcano has melted about 10 percent of the glacier.
However, that does not mean Europe will see great relief from the plume of ash that is choking the upper atmosphere with tiny particles, threatening jet engines.
The glacier on top of the volcano is about 200 meters thick - thinner than many glaciers atop other volcanoes that have erupted in recent times. That means there is less ice to suffocate the eruptions and resulting steam.
It still could take months for the volcano to burn through the rest of the glacier, to a point where the steam and ash would turn instead into lava, Kjartansson said.
Ash from the volcano drifted southeast toward Europe, sparing the capital Reykjavik and other more populated centers but forcing farmers and their livestock indoors as a blanket cover fell on the surrounding areas.
Iceland's Meteorological Office said tremors from the volcano had grown more intense and had increased from a day ago, but that the column of steam and ash rising from the volcano had eased back to 4-5 kilometers from as high as 11km when it started erupting last week.
"We are seeing mixed signals," said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the office.
One positive sign in the area is that there was no immediate threat of further flooding.
The eruption is taking place under Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier, normally a popular hiking ground about 120km southeast of Reykjavik.
Kjartansson believes the volcano has melted about 10 percent of the glacier.
However, that does not mean Europe will see great relief from the plume of ash that is choking the upper atmosphere with tiny particles, threatening jet engines.
The glacier on top of the volcano is about 200 meters thick - thinner than many glaciers atop other volcanoes that have erupted in recent times. That means there is less ice to suffocate the eruptions and resulting steam.
It still could take months for the volcano to burn through the rest of the glacier, to a point where the steam and ash would turn instead into lava, Kjartansson said.
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