Photo # 1 (June 2010)
ASH AND LIGHTNING ABOVE AN ICELANDIC VOLCANO
Nature, to be commanded,
must be obeyed.
- Francis Bacon
Credit & Copyright: Marco Fulle (Stromboli
Online)
Why did the recent
volcanic eruption in Iceland create so much ash? Although the large ash plume was not
unparalleled in its abundance, its location was particularly noticeable because it drifted
across such well populated areas. The Eyjafjallajökull
volcano in southern Iceland began erupting on March 20, with a second eruption starting under
the center of a small glacier on April 14. Neither eruption was unusually
powerful. The second eruption, however, melted a large amount of glacial ice which then cooled
and fragmented lava
into gritty glass particles that were carried up with the rising volcanic
plume. Pictured
above two days ago, lightning
bolts illuminate ash pouring out of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.
In the context of the historic proportions of the most far-reaching recorded effects of volcanoes, the smoke from Iceland was a relatively minor event. Yet the disruptions to human air commerce were serious. A globalized economy is vulnerable to these sorts of disruptions.
Developing local economies is a good hedge against such disruptions - in addition to providing local sources of food, products and services that reduce our carbon footprints.
- Dan Benor, MD
