Iceland's Bardarbunga is About to Explode

19 hours ago

When  Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul erupted in 2010, it caused travel chaos, grounding flights due to a plume of ash it sent flying thousands of kilometres away causing havoc in Europe. Flights were cancelled as far away as Newfoundland.

Another mammoth Icelandic volcano, Bardarbunga, is ready to erupt. This one could dwarf the Eyjafjallajokull glacier volcano. That's the word that's streaming out of the northern island nation as geophysicists around the globe hold their breaths to see what will happen next.
The Eyjafjallajokull eruption galvanized Europe and stunned the world with its unrelenting ferocity. It caused billions of dollars in loss, paralyzed European air travel and caused food and other commodities to spike upwards. Worried experts warn that this eruption could be much, much worse.

    

University of Iceland geophysicists have warned of a significant rise in seismic activity in the area of Vatnajökull, the largest of Iceland's glaciers. A swarm of earthquakes has erupted signaling the likely eruption of Bardarbunga, Iceland's second biggest volcano and one that sits directly above a major lava conduit. Bardarbunga, a stratovolcano towering 6,600 feet, is part of the island nation's largest volcanic system. The huge volcano's crater covers 43 square miles and is completely encased under glacial ice.                   
Bardarbunga's last major eruption was horrendous. It changed the weather pattern in northern Europe and darkened the skies for months during 1477. That gigantic eruption generated the largest lava flow in 10,000 years and significantly expanded Iceland's land mass.

Grim experts concede that if the volcano's current activity culminates in an eruption equal to that of 1477, all of Scandinavia and much of northern Russia and Europe will be left reeling. The UK will be slammed by choking volcanic dust, grit and poisonous superheated gases. Commerce will grind to a halt, the skies will blacken for weeks, perhaps months, and agriculture would be severely affected.