Test Flights Indicate Air Travel May Resume in Europe Despite Ongoing Eruption in Iceland

The ongoing eruption at Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has impacted air travelers around the globe, essentially paralyzing air travel to and from Europe in recent days. Soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are being flown directly to the United States instead of making the usual stop at Landstuhl in Germany. While the eruption at Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland is causing travel headaches for hundreds of thousands of people, it's a reminder that Mother Nature is always in charge. This isn't the first time that a volcano in Iceland has impacted people around the globe. Back in 1783, the eruption of Laki volcano in Iceland changed the climate temporarily. The eruption at Laki lasted for eight months and created a noticeable haze from Iceland to Syria. Up to 25 percent of the residents of Iceland perished due to famine directly caused by the eruption. The Laki eruption of 1783 in Iceland caused winter temperatures in the United States to dip 4.8 degrees Celsius below the 225-year average. While 4.8 degrees Celsius may not sound like much, it's quite substantial.

The 1783 eruption at Laki in Iceland is rated at a VEI of 4. VEI refers to Volcano Explosivity Index, which ranges from 0-8. The VEI is determined by the volume of erupted material, height of the eruption column, duration of the eruption, and other qualitative descriptive terms. By comparison, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington rated a VEI of 5, just barely qualifying as "very large". It's too early to determine the final VEI of the eruption at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, but it will likely rate a VEI of 3.

Very few volcanoes have eruptions that rate a VEI of 7 or greater; two of them are still active, sitting quietly in the United States. Long Valley Caldera in eastern California and Yellowstone in Wyoming are both supervolcanoes. An eruption from either of these volcanoes would easily impact the entire globe. The last eruption of a supervolcano was approximately 74,000 years ago at the Toba Caldera in Indonesia. Thankfully, these enormous eruptions occur very infrequently and some of the eruptions that have historically taken place at these supervolcanoes have been smaller. Yellowstone is monitored very closely-as it should be-it is one of the largest and most active calderas in the world. Both Long Valley and Yellowstone are capable of catastrophic future eruptions. They will make the eruption at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland look like a hiccup by comparison.

Test flights being conducted indicate that it's likely safe for air travel to resume in European air space. Obviously the situation is dynamic and what's true today may not be true tomorrow depending on what occurs at Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. The fine particles from volcanic eruptions have been known to cause aircraft engines to fail, so an abundance of caution is warranted in this situation. It's not only the engines that are of concern, the fine abrasive particles from volcanic eruptions can cause the windscreen in the cockpit to turn opaque, making it impossible for pilots to see. When in doubt, it's definitely better to be inconvenienced than to place lives at risk.

While the current eruption at Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland is causing headaches for many, it pales in comparison to the effects of some of the larger volcanoes around the globe-especially Yellowstone. Nature will always produce a sense of awe and wonder when we consider the fact that as advanced as humans have become, we are always at the mercy of the natural world we live in.

Sources:
Yellowstone Supervolcano
Eruption Size Comparisons
USGS Questions About Super Volcanoes
Vocano VEI Index
Mount St. Helens Past, Present, and Future
Washington Post