Iceland Volcano, Grimsvotn, Erupting (not Rapture, but hey..)

Grimsvotn volcano erupting

New Update: (Tuesday, May 24, 9:35am EST) here: Iceland Volcano Causes Flights of Thousands to be Cancelled.
Update (Monday, May 23, 9:15am EST) here:
Iceland Volcano Eruption Continues, Volcanic Ash May Hit UK, France, Spain.
Update here: Iceland: Grimsvotn Volcano Eruption Triggers Local Flight Ban {VIDEO}
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& more videos here:
2011 Grímsvötn Volcano Eruption {VIDEOS}

Iceland’s most active volcano, the Grimsvotn volcano, has erupted, MSNBC reports. 18,000-foot high white plumes have shot into the air, according to scientists. 50 or so small earthquakes (the largest of which was 3.7 on the Richter Scale) followed.

This Grimsvotn eruption is not expected to cause air travel chaos like Eyjafjallajokul did in April of 2010. An eruption similar to this one occurred in 2004 (and did you hear about that?…).

The Vatnajokull glacier sits above the Grimsvotn volcano in southeast Iceland. “In November, melted glacial ice began pouring from Grimsvotn, signaling a possible eruption,” MSNBC reports. “That was a false alarm but scientists have been monitoring the volcano closely ever since.”

While this certainly isn’t Rapture and it isn’t even likely to cause much trouble for humans, it could turn into something, so we will keep you updated if anything newsworthy happens.

Grimsvotn’s History

“Since 1920 the eruptions have been in 1922, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1945, 1954, 1983, 1998 and 2004. Many of the eruptions have lasted from one to three weeks, the 2004 eruption lasted only four days,” Iceland Review writes. “Eruptions in Grímsvötn often lead to floods in Skeidará. In 1996 an eruption occurred in an area between Grímsvötn and Bárdarbunga, a mountain in Vatnajökull. The eruption lead to floods that washed away a bridge over a river.”

Grimsvotn Ranked One of the World’s ‘Top’ Volcanoes

The Discovery Channel ranked Grímsvötn 8th in its list of the “Top 10 Volcanoes in Geologic History” in 2009. “I’m very proud on behalf of our volcanoes,” geophysicist Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson told Morgunbladid, saying that Grímsvötn’s place in the list is well-deserved.

Looks like Grímsvötn is living up to its reputation.

More on volcanoes.

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  4. Why Are We Fascinated with Short-term Destruction & Fear (i.e. Volcanoes, Rapture) but Oblivious to Long-term Harms (i.e. Global Warming)?

Photo via eir@si

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