This is a picure taken in Reykjanes, Iceland. What you are looking at is the place where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. (If you look closely toward the middle of the bridge, you will see a white spot--that is my hat! The picture was taken in February 2007. Please note the gray quality of the ground--it is lava rock occasionally covered by moss.) These plates are drawing apart at the rate of approximately 2 centimeters a year. Iceland is a breathtakingly beautiful island build over a volcanic hot-spot in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and is used to an occasional volcanic eruption. The latest eruption was Wednesday under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier.
Yesterday's Washington Post reported on the eruption.
According to the article:
"The Icelandic Civil Defense Authority ordered 700 people to evacuate their homes and said melting ice from the glacier had caused big floods that threatened to damage a highway and several bridges, an official told Reuters."
The danger to the population in the area of the eruption is flooding as the ice from the glacier melts. The civil defense people in Iceland are digging holes to attempt to take the pressure of the flood waters away from the bridges in the area.
Iceland is an amazing country. They have truly discovered 'green energy'. Because they sit on a volcanic hot-spot, they use the heat of the volcanoes to produce energy. When we stayed there, the hot water in the hotel came from the volcanoes and the cold water came from the glaciers. The floor of the hotel was hot-water heated, so you never stepped out onto a cold floor in the morning. However, you never knew when you stepped into the shower how strong the smell of sulfur would be! We saw greenhouses everywhere--again the electricity to heat them was inexpensive and 'green'. I am hopeful that the two recent volcanic eruptions are not an indication of things to come. The people of Iceland are wonderful, and I wish them safety as they deal with this recent event.
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