Iceland Volcanic Activity: environmental impacts to come?

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has begun to spit lava and steam out into the air. If Iceland volcanic activity continues, the ash and gasses could cause global warming that no fax loans could solve, no matter what governments invested in solutions.

Iceland volcanic activity in the past Volcanoes are notoriously difficult to make predictions about. However, volcanic activity on Iceland has historically been preceded by seismic activity, much like the recent earthquakes around the world. Volcanoes in Iceland sit on top of the Atlantic’s mid-oceanic ridge, and when earthquakes push magma and hot rock to the surface, Iceland volcanoes are more likely to erupt. Scientists who specialize in Iceland volcanic activity have said that when Eyjafjallajokull begins to erupt, Katla usually follows. This is partially because Eyjafjallajokull’s lava and steam melts the glacier caps on top of Katla, which makes it easier for Katla to blow its top.

Cooling triggered by Iceland volcanic activity

The planet temporarily cooled from Iceland volcanic activity in 1783. The gasses were so thick that some residents of the British Isles died due to being poisoned by the gas alone. The eruptions also contributed to famine by causing crop outputs to drop precipitously. North America had its coldest winter ever that year, so cold that rivers in New Orleans froze. When Chile’s Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, the globe cooled by 4 degrees for a full year.

Not necessarily a nightmare scenario

While the stories of what can happen when Iceland volcanic activity starts to rise can be the stuff of Hollywood movies, that doesn’t imply it could be the worst-case scenario. The last time Eyjafjallajokull erupted, it was a two year long “lazy” eruption in 1821 that did not cause any major environmental effects outside of Iceland. The thick ice on top of most volcanoes in Iceland make them difficult to predict. In the end, the best bet is to get a personal loan to stock up your emergency supplies, but don’t lock yourselves in underground bunkers quite yet.