Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano is nothing to 'Angry Sister' Katla

[Joanne98]

Katla: the sleeping sister

Katla has erupted 16 times since 930, in 1755 exploding so violently that its ash settled on parts of Scotland. In 1918, Katla tore chunks of ice the size of houses from the Myrdalsjökull glacier atop it, sending them careening down its slopes and into the Atlantic on floods of melted glacier water.

While Eyjafjallavökull is virtually anonymous in Icelandic lore, Katla is one of the "Angry Sisters" along its even-more active twin, Hekla.

The 1918 eruption was the last major eruption of Katla – a volcano that has erupted twice a century, on average – which is why scientists have paid particularly close attention to it in recent days.

But while earth beneath Eyjafjallajökull trembled with thousands of small earthquakes in the months before the eruption – signaling that magma was welling up beneath the volcano – scientists have not seen the same activity at Katla yet.

Even as some scientists suggest that the current Eyjnafjallajökull eruption is abating, the past few days have been only a taste of what Icelanders have known for generations: Their island is one of the most restless places on the planet.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0418/Iceland-s-Eyjafjallajoekull-volcano-is-nothing-to-Angry-Sister-Katla

There's a Katla twitter page already.

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Katla

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. Earlier today, one of the UK outlets (Guardian?) was reporting "Katla groaning"

Don't know exactly what that is supposed to signify as I don't know much about volcanic activity.

If she blows, it is gonna be a helluva summer in Europe.

[DemReadingDU]

2. not just Europe. Everywhere.

If planes are grounded because volcanic ash is global, there will be no air travel, airlines will be bankrupt, not much tourism, and many other ramifications.

[northernlights]

3. I saw that same article

that said she's groaning. I think also read that in the past she's blown about a year after her little sister.

Little sister may be abating for the moment, but she normally will spew off and on for a year or two.

And if Katla does blow it will be more than just a helluva summer...it'll be a couple of cooler than normal years. I'm sure the freepers will see it as a sign that global warming is a lie :eyes:

[Diclotican]

4. Joanne98

Joanne98

Think we are up for a WERRY intersting summer here in Europe this summer.. I doubt that either Eyjafjallavökull, Hekla or Katla would be kind over beeing sleeping for at least 90 year... They are up for something, and I have the feeling it wil not be the last of the volkanos and that we have seen now, is not the best who they tree sisters can give a show for the next 2-3 monts..

Maybe it wil be a "New dawn" for the ship who sailed the atlantic seas before the aircraft really got to the air.. Becouse peopole need or want to travel over the atlantic anyway, so why not go the sea way, if the airways for the moment are closed, or serverly restricted.. The tree sisters on Iceland can brew for a few year if we are unlucky enought...

And it have been a few inventions at the sea travel since the 1950s, and I guess an trans atlantic voyage for a couple of days is worth it, if you really want to cross the pond to US.. Its far more comfortabel today to sail the high seas, than it was in the first half of the 1900s, even tho it was more comfort the last 30-year than before...


Diclotican

[Diclotican]

5. Joanne98

Joanne98


http://www.vg.no/bildespesial/spesial.php?id=7612&imgId=542695 From VG an newpaper in Norway, a picture special from Iceland It is in Norwigian so it is maybe difficult to understand, but you can allways look at the pictures: It is really stunning... I am in awe...:evilgrin:

Diclotican

[scarletwoman]

6. Thank you for that link. Yes, those pictures are truly stunning!

I wish I could understand Norwegian, but the pictures tell the story quite well.

I am sorry for those Icelanders living in the midst of this eruption, and for their poor livestock also. I lived in Alaska for six years, and during that time there were several volcanic eruptions that rained down ash where I lived, even though it was hundreds of miles away from the volcanos.

Volcanic ash is nasty stuff -- basically it's tiny shards of glass, very difficult to clean off of things.

Is Norway getting ashfall?

sw

[Diclotican]

7. scarletwoman

scarletwoman

Wel the norwigian language are not that difficult to learn, as long as you are willing to learn the dam language.. But I also guess it is a language for the specially interested, mostly becouse it is a language who maybe 4.7 million pepole is using on a regular basis.. So it is not that large a language.... It have a lot of words, from different languages, specially German who was a language who had some inpact in modern norwigian at a stage where the language was true some really hard times... English aslo, but most in modern times, specially after the computer got into the home.. Kids today know "the computer language" far better than I can it, even tho they do share the same language as I do.. go figuere when that happend:evilgrin:

But the pictures tell the story well I would say, about the volkano, and the impact of peopoles life...

I think the iclandic have had their share of troubles now.. First their economy more or less melted away, and they discovered that someone had played away their economy, it might never be able to really pay the money back - that other say they owe.. And now this from mother nature. Must be days the icelandic population want to emigrate en gross to other, more friendly places.. And maybe even think some word about them who emigrated to Iceland in the "store landemålet" where many from Norway emigrated to Iceland, becouse it was land there and no king to rule them.. And even under the big norse kings of the 1200s, the life on Iceland was rather different from Norway who was far more under the thum from the king, than Iceland ever was.. Mostly becouse Iceland was rather remote part of the Norwigian Empire....

Yes we have some of the ashfall, as we live downwind from the eruptions.. Even tho Iceland is in the Atlantic, the wind have been west right to Norway the last couple of days, and we have our ashfall over most of Norway.. And most of Norway have also been closed off for airtravel, who even Rachel Maddow was talking about in to segment of last weeks show.. One was of the norwgian prime minister whow was stuck in New York, and who kind of "governented"from his hotel rom in NYC.. And who managed to get hime, by Aircraft to Madrid, and then by car the long way home to Norway... And by the way, he got one of the Ipads.. Who he had to clear custom before he could opperate inside Norway:P So NOBODY is over the law in Norway - not even the Prime Minister of Norway..

The other story was when Mr Cleese, who have had a couple of shows in Norway, wanted to leve the country, to do shows other places in Europa, had to hail a cab, and drive true Sweden, Denmark, Germany down to Holland - it cost him 30.000 NKR, or 5000 dollar to do so... The driver who was norwigian by the way, said after he got home, that mr Cleese was a funny man, who also was a really kind man and they had a fine time driving true Europe... 18 hour it took before mr Cleese could make it to his show in time.. But when you must, you must do what you must...

As of now, it is limited airtraffic out of Norway, who could be closed verry soon, if not closed allready.. Its tutch and goes for a while I guess.. It all depend of what happend in iceland, and if the "tree sisters" is calming down, or erupt again... Gardermoen, who is the main airport to Norway, have some outbound traffic, but verry limited inbound traffic, as not many is flyint too Norway.. Mostly it is aircraft where the pilots is taking them home to base...

Diclotican