EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL!

It seems that most media outlets are just referring to it as Iceland's volcano or, even simpler, as "the volcano".  While Eyjafjallalökull may never become a household name (this morning it was deemed unpronounceable by someone on Radio-Canada) it is having its moment of fame these days.

Its name reminds me of the alphabet soup that might be written into a bubble over a Belgian cartoon character's head after he has been clobbered in the head by some falling bird dung.  "Merde! !@$&@!%", or now, Eyjafjallajökull!  It would make for an interesting new swear word.

My plane has been delayed - EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL!!
I can't attend my daughter's wedding - EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL!!
There go my vacation plans - EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL!

Yes, the explosion of Iceland's volcano has caused some airplane traffic chaos over the last day or so.  We may be in for a few more days, even weeks, of inconvenience.  In fact nobody really know how long it might last.  If (when?) the volcanic ash starts to drift down to Earth it may cause respiratory issues in humans and other animals.  But in the grand scheme of things this is a pretty minor eruption and the consequences, at least to date, have been negligible.  A missed flight, lost business deal or ruined vacation is nothing compared to what could transpire if Earth really decided to put on a show for us.

The last book I read was "A Short History or Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson.  What I enjoyed about the book was the way it presented the awesome power - the forces - that surround us as we walk on Earth's thin crust going about our business.  The space Earth floats along in, and the solid world below our feet, hold many phenomenal powers that occur on cycles too long for us to comprehend fully.  The book left me with the knowledge that these last, say, 15,000 years, have been an anomaly in terms of how peaceful it has been on our rock.  The norm is for much more natural violence.

Most interesting to me, and related to volcanism, is Yellowstone in the United States.  It is what is called a superplume and has erupted about a hundred times in the last 16.5 million years.  One such eruption, two million years ago, pumped out enough ash to cover all of California with six metres of the stuff (about twenty feet).

There is no visible volcano at Yellowstone (by that I mean the stereotypical conic form we all draw when asked to draw a volcano).  Why?  Because the whole freaking thing is a volcano!  A park ranger explains that new geysers can pop up anywhere, at anytime, as has happened in the past - most recently in 1989 when a small five metre (fifteen foot) crater just opened up.

Based on the cycle of explosions that have occurred at Yellowstone, we now know that it blows every 600,000 years or so.  The last one was 630,000 years ago.  We are due.  Just to drive the point home, in 1984 geologists measured the height of a large area of the park ("several dozen square miles" according to Bryson).  It was three feet higher than it had been in 1924.  Then, in only one year, it fell by eight inches.  Now it is rising again.  Can you imagine the forces required to lift that much weight?

More recently, well 74,000 years ago, a supervolcano at Toba in Indonesia blew.  It was followed by six years of volcanic winter on Earth.  That might cause a bit more headaches for humanity.

Many scientists confidently say that these types of eruptions will never happen again.  The geology of the Earth has changed they claim.  Some of their peers disagree stating that we just do not understand what happens just a few kilometres below the Earth's surface, much less lower down.  Complex forces are at work.

Yes, it is unlikely that one of these events will occur during our average 67.2 year lifetimes.  But, I am guessing it will happen again on Earth and, if we humans are still around, the Belgian character might yell out "YELLOWSTONE!!" when the bird drops its load on his plate of frites.



Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!