Jon Steingrimmson was deeply worried. The eruption had been going on for three weeks already. Lava coming down from the hills, flowing down the river valleys and covering the farm land. But it wasn’t the lava that was doing most of the damage (at least not yet – worse was to come). It was what…
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble Do you remember that famous Australia TV soap where everyone in the town helped each other with their mini-crises, such as ‘who took my surf board’ and where the life guard walked around the beach in their swimmers? (I may be getting confused here with…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…