The Iceland Volcano

 

Have you ever learned about what a volcano is? A volcano is a mountain-like landform with a “vent” in it that connects down into the Earth to a hot layer of our planet where there is molten rock, or magma. When magma and gases from inside the Earth accumulate pressure, the volcano erupts. An eruption releases rock, ash, gases, and lava (erupted magma). Many of the world’s volcanoes are “inactive” or “dormant,” meaning they have not had any eruptions in a long time – sometimes even hundreds of years. 

On April 14, 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland had a large explosion for the first time since the 1820s (almost 200 years)! The big explosion came following a series of lesser, calmer activity from the volcano that began about a month earlier, on March 20th, which had included some sprays of fire and flowing lava. Luckily, there had been good warning (from earthquakes in the region) that the volcano was likely to become active and so many people in the area were prepared to evacuate.

While the volcano’s initial activity was relatively “peaceful” (and even watched by many tourists and interested people!), the larger explosion of April 14th has caused more difficulties. Most specifically, it sent out enormous clouds of ash (as much as 11,000 meters into the air!). These huge ash clouds have caused a great deal of airline trouble – because of the large and thick cloud, planes in most of Europe have been unable to fly! Thousands of passengers have been stranded as the cloud of ash continues to hover in the air and as more ash is still released by the volcano! In recent days, some airports have started opening back up, but in many places they remain indefinitely closed.

As days continue to pass, the ash is expected to settle and weather changes could help it to clear up, too. The volcano’s continued eruptions are also expected to become smaller and smaller. Although scientists cannot completely forecast what Mother Nature will do, many experts are working to interpret what is likely to happen as more and more developments fall into place!