Grimsvötn – The Saksunarvatn Tephras

A repost on the past of Grimsvotn, as it seems to be nearing its next eruption, albeit not on the same scale as the one described here! It is sometimes hard to understand the size of the Icelandic volcanic systems. We often read statistical things like “Half of all the ash in Europe” and “One…

Laki: the making of a fire

Laki was one of the defining events of Iceland’s history. Its impact went well beyond the nation, covering much of the northern hemisphere. It seems amazing that something that caused so much suffering was seen by so few people. This it shares with Eldgja, which was even larger and must have devastated Iceland, but of…

Laki deconstructed V. Ashes to Ashes and Sulphates to Sulphates

For those who have missed the previous 3 parts and the prequel. Here are the links. Laki deconstructed: I. prequel Laki deconstructed II. Anatomy of an Eruption Laki deconstructed III. Grimsvötn and Beyond Laki deconstructed IV. A Timeline for Destruction The nuclear background To be able to understand large eruptions you need to understand a…

Laki deconstructed IV. A Timeline for Destruction

Before I start I would like to point towards the previous 3 parts. It might be a good read for those who missed them when I first published them. Prequel Laki deconstructed: I. prequel Part 2 Laki deconstructed II. Anatomy of an Eruption Part 3 Laki deconstructed III. Grimsvötn and Beyond The pre Skaftár Fires…

Laki deconstructed III. Grimsvötn and Beyond

Lakí deconstructed – Grimsvötn and Beyond We now continue our Laki series, first published in 2013. If you haven’t read the previous Laki instalments, I suggest that you do so first. Prequel – Laki deconstructed: I. prequel Part 1 – Laki deconstructed II. Anatomy of an Eruption Grimsvötn Fissure System The Grimsvötn fissure system is…

Laki deconstructed II. Anatomy of an Eruption

We continue Carl’s story of Laki. I highly recommend anyone who has not read ‘Central volcanoes of Vatnajökull’ to do so carefully, otherwise you will most likely be lost fairly quickly, see it as the prequel to this multi-part article. Previous Lakí research Up until 1993 research into the Skaftár Fires was based upon a…

Laki deconstructed: I. prequel

Central volcanoes of Vatnajökull With all volcanic activity seemingly on hold during the shut-down, here is a re-post from the dungeons, originally published May 29, 2013, and written by Carl. It leads into a post on Laki which we hope to put on in the next few days. After that, who knows. Perhaps something on…

Activity at Hekla and The Dead Zone

While we are waiting for Öraefajökull to drop a Christmas present and Grimsvötn to hatch an Easter egg, we instead might get a gift from Hekla. And at the horizon suddenly, a far darker bird looms. So, once more we must ask and answer the age-old volcanic question; what gives in Iceland? Hekla Many people…

The Dead Zone 2: The Sound of Silence

Although I’m more of an unseen hand (Volcanonati?) behind the scenes at VolcanoCafe and the VC Facebook group, I wanted to step out the shadows and give the Dead Zone article some new light. It’s an area I’ve always been fascinated with and it was this very area, along with its fissure eruptions, that first…

Volcanohistology: when eruptions make a difference

Volcanoes are frightening. They can dramatically alter the local landscape, and change people’s live – normally for the worse. The best place to be is far away. But large eruptions can have wider impacts. The ash can cover regions a continent away, and sulphate aerosols can spread at high altitude around the world. The sulphate…