Volcano erupts beneath glacier in Iceland
Grimsvotn is Iceland’s most frequently active volcano. It
produced the world’s largest known historical lava flow over a
seven-month period.
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The Grimsvotn volcano under the Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland was
erupting last Saturday, according to the Icelandic Meteorological
Office. A dark cloud of smoke was rising from the glacier, and
scientists were flying over the scene to evaluate the event. The last
eruption of the volcano was in 2004.
Last year, another Icelandic eruption, of the volcano
Eyjafjallajokull, attracted worldwide attention after its ash cloud
disrupted air travel across Europe. Sitrun Kapitola, manager of the
Islandia Hotel Nupar, which is close to Saturday's eruption, said she
could see a cloud of smoke over the mountains, and ash was falling
around the hotel.
Police were telling her and others that there was no need to evacuate
and there was nothing to fear, Kapitola said. "We see it very well," she
said. "It's nothing compared to the other one," she added, referring to
last year's dramatic Eyjafjallajokull eruption. Tourists at the hotel
were excited to see the eruption, watching the events unfold while
eating dinner, she said. "It happens every 10 years," she said. "It
mostly produces water."
Grimsvotn is Iceland's most frequently active volcano. In 1783, a
16.7-mile fissure system from the volcano produced the world's largest
known historical lava flow over a seven-month period, damaging crops and
livestock, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural
History.
A resulting famine led to the loss of one-fifth of Iceland's
population, according to the Smithsonian website.
- CNN |