Iceland has a new volcano about to erupt. It’s bigger than Eyjafjallajökull. Bardarbunga is erupting already, but from a fissure that spread outside of it’s caldera area toward another massive volcano, Askja. Fortunately the magma reservoirs of the two did not merge. Still, the fissure eruption is currently spewing lava as high as 100m into the air, and is releasing impressive amounts of the toxic gas SulfurDioxide. Icelandic officials have given a warning to those living in the area, to avoid exposure at all costs; remain indoors, turn off ventilation systems, and evacuate if possible. Concentrations as high as 2600 micrograms/cubic meter have been observed; the 10-minute safety limit for humans is 500. The plume of gas is heading toward Finland and Norway at the moment, after threatening Scotland a few days ago. There is virtually no chance of the current plume of toxic gas reaching Canada in any concentration to cause concern for public health. At the moment, there are no significant disruptions to air travel in Europe. Still, there is some cause for concern. Earthquakes in the range of 5.0-5.5 on the Richter scale are coming sometimes seconds apart, in Bardarbunga’s caldera. A classic explosive caldera eruption seems likely in the near future, probably larger than 2010’s Eyjafjallajökull . Depending on the size of the eruption, a large quantity of dust and ash could be thrown into the atmosphere, and eventually cause respiratory problems for susceptible people worldwide. If Bardarbunga increases it’s gas emissions, there will eventually be consequences in Canada as well, depending on the type of gas released. How bad could a Bardarbunga eruption eventually be? In 1783, a fissure eruption of the Icelandic volcano Laki spewed so much Sulfur Dioxide and Hydrofluoric Acid that it killed 25% of Iceland’s population, and 23,000 people in Britain from direct poisoning alone, besides the many around the world who died from disruption of farming cycles. It caused the coldest winter on record in North America, resulting in the Mississippi freezing all the way to New Orleans and ice formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Bardarbunga is one of the largest volcanoes in Iceland, but the vast majority of volcanic eruptions in Iceland do not rise to this level. There is no cause for alarm, but a massive eruption could have public health consequences in Canada, and cause climate disruption. But the most likely effect we will see is simply beautiful sunsets for a few months. What should you do? N95 masks will help protect those with respiratory conditions, should a massive eruption send dust and ash into the high atmosphere. In Iceland, gas masks and meters are already sold out, but there is no reason to think Canada will ever face similar levels of toxic gas from the East. For the moment, I do not think any precautions are necessary, but we should keep watch. By Jody Blair Sumner, September 12, 2014 time/3332738/icelands-bardarbunga-volcano-video/
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 20:25:19 +0000
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