Science

As Iceland Braces For A Potential Volcanic Eruption, What Is Likely To Happen And What Are The Risks?

Published

12 months ago

2023-11-13

Iceland has declared a state of emergency, and more than 3,000 residents have been asked to evacuate the small coastal town of Grindavk as authorities predict the eruption of a volcano in the country’s southwestern peninsula.

Scientists monitoring the situation, including those at Iceland’s Met Office, noticed changes on Sunday that may indicate “magma is moving closer to the surface” and concluded on Monday that “the greatest area of magma upwelling” is 3.5 kilometers (two miles) northeast of Grindavk.

So, what do we know about this prospective eruption, what are the hazards, how may it disrupt travel, and why is Iceland, a 103,000-square-kilometer (40,000-square-mile) island, seeing so much seismic activity?

Iceland is seeing occurrences that its 360,000 citizens “have not experienced before, at least not since the eruption in Vestmannaeyjar,” according to the country’s Civil Protection Agency, referring to a 1973 eruption that occurred without warning and destroyed 400 homes.

As Iceland Braces For A Potential Volcanic Eruption, What Is Likely To Happen And What Are The Risks?

According to the Civil Protection Agency, a 15-kilometer (nine-mile) long magma channel currently spans from just northwest of Grindavk into the Atlantic Ocean, based on models constructed from data collected in the area on Saturday.

Magma is a mixture of molten and semi-molten rock beneath the Earth’s surface that can trigger an eruption when it reaches the surface and transforms into lava.

Experts believe that if the lava erupts beneath the water, it will be more powerful than if it erupts on land. However, an explosion on land would pose a greater threat to Grindavk itself.

“It could become explosive if the magma interacts with sea water,” said Michele Paulatto, a research fellow at Imperial College London.

“If it erupts beneath the sea, it could cause a Surtseyan eruption similar to the one that occurred in Iceland in 1963, which created the island of Surtsey.” “Because that eruption lasted several years, this is a possibility,” he added.

In a statement, Bill McGuire, Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at University College London, stated there is “no reason, currently, to think that this eruption will be particularly large,” he added that “it is notoriously difficult to forecast how big an eruption will be.”

“The evacuated town of Grindavík is very close to the position of the new fracture, and its survival is far from assured,” he said. “Everything depends upon where magma eventually reaches the surface, but the situation doesn’t look good for the residents of the town.”

There is still a chance that the magma will never reach the surface. According to Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom, “not all dikes breach the surface to form eruptions… perhaps only one out of every three or four.”

He said: “The best-case scenario is that this happens to the 15-km-long dike that has just formed, and that it simply cools and solidifies – and does not erupt.”

However, some of the repercussions of the earthquake activity are already visible. Roads in the area have been damaged by earthquakes, with the Icelandic road administration posting photographs on social media of disintegrating tarmac, broken pavements and gaping fissures in the road.

After experts stated they couldn’t rule out the possibility of a magma tunnel reaching Grindavk, the Civil Protection Agency evacuated the town on Friday night. However, some inhabitants were permitted back to one area under police supervision on Sunday to rescue pets and vital items.

The famous Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa approximately seven kilometers (four miles) north of Grindavk that lures tourists to its steaming water, was closed as a precaution on Thursday.

“Toxic fumes are a real concern, the main being sulphur dioxide which can be corrosive and cause breathing problems,” he said. “It’s not something we need to worry about in the UK, but the local population and tourists can be affected depending on the prevailing wind direction.”

Is Reykjavik safe from the eruption?

Grindavk is located around 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital city. Authorities have not issued an evacuation order for Reykjavik, implying that they believe the city will be unaffected by the eruption.

However, Keflavik, Iceland’s only international airport, is around 20 miles from Grindavk.

Experts do not expect a volcanic eruption to generate the same level of devastation as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in 2010 because it is unlikely to involve the glacial ice that resulted in a massive ash cloud.

As a result of the ash thrown out by the 2010 eruption, which threatened to stall aircraft engines and cause electrical failure, over 100,000 flights were canceled, affecting 2 million people.

“Eyjafjallajökull involved an eruption through or next to glacial ice that melted and provided water that made the eruption more explosive than it would have otherwise been, hence the high eruption plume and very wide ash dispersal,” said Lionel Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Lancaster University.

“This should not have happened…As a result, they will just have to contend with weakly explosive lava fountains feeding lava flows.”

Volcanic eruptions are common in Iceland, albeit they usually occur in the wilderness, far from human areas. The Bárarbunga volcano system in the country’s center erupted in 2014, resulting in lava covering 84 square kilometers (32 square miles) of highland and causing no harm to any communities.

Why are there so many volcanos in Iceland?

For the first time in over 6,000 years, the Fagradalsfjall volcano system erupted in 2021. It also did not endanger populated areas and became a tourist attraction as people gathered to see a volcanic explosion.

Iceland is located on a tectonic plate boundary constantly splitting apart, pushing North America and Eurasia apart along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. A massive mantle plume, hotter than the surrounding magma, rests beneath it, melting and thinning the Earth’s crust. Because of these characteristics, Iceland is home to 32 active volcanoes.

Source – (CNN)

Kiara Grace

Kiara Grace is a staff writer at VORNews, a reputable online publication. Her writing focuses on technology trends, particularly in the realm of consumer electronics and software. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for breaking down complex topics. Kiara delivers insightful analyses that resonate with tech enthusiasts and casual readers alike. Her articles strike a balance between in-depth coverage and accessibility, making them a go-to resource for anyone seeking to stay informed about the latest innovations shaping our digital world.

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Science

A Spacecraft Is On Its Way To A Harmless Asteroid Slammed By NASA In A Previous Save-The-Earth Test

Published

4 weeks ago

2024-10-10

Kiara Grace

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – A spacecraft launched Monday to probe the site of a cosmic accident.

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft launched on a two-year trip to the little, harmless asteroid slammed by NASA two years ago as a practice run for the day when a murderous space rock threatens Earth. It’s the second phase of a planetary defense experiment that could one day save the globe.

SpaceX’s Falcon rocket vanished with Hera into the late morning clouds. An hour later, cheering erupted in the control center in Germany as the spacecraft split from the rocket’s upper stage and returned home. “It’s an amazing day,” the space agency’s director general, Josef Aschbacher, said later.

The 2022 crash of NASA’s Dart spacecraft reduced Dimorphos’ orbit around its larger companion, indicating that if a harmful rock was heading our way, it might be pushed off course with adequate warning.

nasa

A Spacecraft Is On Its Way To A Harmless Asteroid Slammed By NASA In A Previous Save-The-Earth Test

Scientists are eager to analyze the aftermath of the impact up close to determine how effective Dart was and what improvements may be required to protect Earth in the future.

“The more detail we can glean the better as it may be important for planning a future deflection mission should one be needed,” University of Maryland astronomer Derek Richardson stated before launch.

Researchers want to know if Dart (short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test) created a crater or changed the 500-foot (150-meter) asteroid more dramatically. It seemed to be a flying saucer before Dart’s blow and may now resemble a kidney bean, according to Richardson, who participated in the Dart mission and is assisting Hera.

Dart’s wallop sent rubble and boulders hurtling off Dimorphos, adding to the impact’s momentum. For months, the debris track extended thousands of miles (almost 10,000 kilometers) into space.

According to flight director Ignacio Tanco, some rocks and debris may still be hovering about the asteroid, posing a threat to Hera.

A Spacecraft Is On Its Way To A Harmless Asteroid Slammed By NASA In A Previous Save-The-Earth Test

“We don’t really know very well the environment in which we are going to operate,” Tanco informed me. “But that’s the whole point of the mission is to go there and find out.”

European authorities refer to the $400 million (363 million euros) effort as a “crash scene investigation.”

“Hera is going back to the crime scene and getting all the scientific and technical information,” said project manager Ian Carnelli.

Carrying a dozen science instruments, the compact car-sized Hera must swing past Mars in 2025 for a gravitational boost before landing at Dimorphos by the end of 2026. It’s a moonlet of Didymos, the Greek word for twin, a five-times larger asteroid that spins quickly. At that point, the asteroids will be 120 million miles (195 million kilometers) from Earth.

Hera will attempt to enter orbit around the rocky duo, progressively reducing flyby distances from 18 miles (30 kilometers) to a half-mile (1 kilometer). The spacecraft will examine the moonlet for at least six months to determine its mass, shape, composition, and orbit around Didymos.

Before the crash, Dimorphos circled its larger partner from three-quarters of a mile (1,189 meters) away. Scientists believe the orbit has become tighter and more oval-shaped, and that the moonlet may be tumbling.

Two shoebox-sized Cubesats will launch from Hera for even closer drone-like examinations, with one employing radar to peek beneath the moonlet’s boulder-strewn surface. Scientists believe Dimorphos was produced from particles shed by Didymos. The radar measurements should assist in determining whether Didymos is the small moon’s parent.

A Spacecraft Is On Its Way To A Harmless Asteroid Slammed By NASA In A Previous Save-The-Earth Test

After their survey, the CubeSats will attempt to land on the moonlet. If the moonlet tumbles, the situation will become more complicated. Hera may potentially conclude its mission with a perilous touchdown but on the bigger Didymos.

Neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth, before or after Dart appeared. That is why NASA chose the pair for humanity’s first asteroid-deflecting demonstration.

Asteroids, which are remnants of the solar system’s origin 4.6 billion years ago, circle the sun principally between Mars and Jupiter in what is known as the main asteroid belt, where millions of them live. When they fall from the belt and land in our area, they become near-Earth objects.

NASA now has around 36,000 near-Earth objects, the majority of which are asteroids, although there are also some comets. More than 2,400 of them are deemed potentially dangerous to the Earth.

SOURCE | AP

Kiara Grace

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Science

A Rare Comet Brightens The Night Skies In October

Published

1 month ago

2024-10-09

Kiara Grace

NEW YORK — Prepare to spot a rare and dazzling comet.

The space rock is hurling toward Earth from the far reaches of the solar system and will make its closest approach on Saturday. It should be visible through the end of October, assuming clear skies.

A Rare Comet Brightens The Night Skies In October

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas should be visible to the naked eye, but binoculars and telescopes will provide a clearer view.

“It’ll be this fuzzy circle with a long tail stretching away from it,” explained Sally Brummel, planetarium manager at the Bell Museum in Minnesota.

What is a comet?
They are frozen remains from billions of years ago when the solar system was formed. They heat up as they swing toward the sun, revealing their distinctive streaming tails.

In 2023, a green one that had last visited Earth 50,000 years ago flew past again. Other significant flybys were Neowise in 2020 and Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the mid to late 1990s.

Where did Tsuchinshan-Atlas come from?
Also known as C/2023 A3, was found last year and named after the observatories in China and South Africa that spotted it.

It originated in the Oort Cloud, which extends far beyond Pluto. After making its closest approach to Earth at 44 million miles (71 million kilometers), it will not return for another 80,000 years, provided it survives the journey.

A Rare Comet Brightens The Night Skies In October

Every year, several comets are detected, but many of them burn up near the sun or are too far away to be observed without special equipment, according to Larry Denneau, a key researcher with the Atlas telescope that helped discover it.

How to View

Those seeking to see Tsuchinshan-Atlas should go outside about an hour after sunset on a clear night and look to the west.

The comet should be visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

SOURCE | AP

Kiara Grace

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Science

NASA Switches Off Instrument On Voyager 2 Spacecraft To Save Power

Published

1 month ago

2024-10-07

Kiara Grace

NEW YORK — To save power, NASA turned off another scientific equipment on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft.

NASA Switches Off Instrument On the Spacecraft To Save Power

The space agency announced on Tuesday that 2’s plasma science instrument, meant to study the movement of charged atoms, was turned off in late September to allow the spacecraft to continue exploring for as long as possible, which is estimated to be into the 2030s.

NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, after exploring the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space or the region between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working years ago and was finally shut off in 2007.

The remaining four instruments on 2 will continue to collect data on magnetic fields and particles. Its mission is to investigate the regions of space beyond the sun’s protective sphere.

NASA Switches Off Instrument On Voyager 2 Spacecraft To Save Power

It launched in 1977, is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. It is now more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) from Earth. 1 is more than 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) beyond Earth.

SOURCE | AP

Kiara Grace

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