Katla 'Nearing' Eruption

[Ghambit]

Who needs an oilspill when you can have a St. Helen's size eruption over Northern Europe.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37371442/ns/technology_and_science-science/#storyContinued

It's been posited that the strength of Katla is around 10 times that of Ea;lkdsjv;alkj.  The ash would be a bit more of a global event in this case and likely shut down air travel over Europe for what could conceivably be months.  I'd say if the oilspill didnt dominate, along with that Vanuatu earthquake, we'd be hearing more about it.

My question is:  What exactly does 'close to failure' mean?  
All the geologists in da' house say "yeaaaahh."

[MahrinSkel]

"Close to failure" = "Holy shit, here it comes!"

At least we can pronounce the name of this one.

--Dave

[Soln]

voodoolilly would know

[CharlieMopps]

Maybe it will do us a solid and set the oil on fire.

[UnSub]

As a history lesson (which may have popped up in the other thread but I don't remember it): Iceland's Laki volcano eruption of 1783 that lasted 8 months.

The sulphur dioxide released helped cool the planet (yay!) leading to some incredibly harsh winters (boo!) and a rolling haze of sulphur dioxide-rich clouds that turned to sulphuric acid when exposed to water... like in someone's lungs when they breathed it in (hmmm) and then there was the impact of the hydrogen fluoride on both crops and people.

[01101010]

Oh goody. Though I think this is probably one of those over-extend the caution and be relieved when it doesn't happen or when it isn't as severe as the apocalyptic connotations they are giving it.

[Yoru]

Did you read the article, or do you just like crying "wolf"?

"We conclude that given the high frequency of Katla activity, an eruption in the short term is a strong possibility," the report said. "It is likely to be preceded by new earthquake activity. Presently there is no unusual seismicity under Katla."

So, yeah, there's a likelihood it'll go off at some point in the near future, but there's likely to be a fair amount of earthquakes preceding it - just as there were both earthquakes and a minor fissure eruption preceding the Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

However, there's no evidence of an immediate threat of eruption as there's been no unusual tremors in the area not sourced from the neighboring eruption.

[Cyrrex]

I, for one, find it awesome that we now have two separate threads for Icelandic volcanoes.  I bet none of you would have guessed that a year ago.  We should have a poll to see which volcano F13ers prefer.

Now that I think about it, however, how does the one that hasn't erupted go into General, while the one that did is in Serious Business?  That hardly seems fair!

[rattran]

Listening to all the newsreaders try to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull was half the fun.

[Trippy]

Now that I think about it, however, how does the one that hasn't erupted go into General, while the one that did is in Serious Business?  That hardly seems fair!

I didn't want to move the other one as well since it looked very comfortable where it was.

[schild]

2012 here we come.

[Soln]

there's like an earthquake every 2 weeks now, isn't there?  yesterday's was in the Pacific

[Lantyssa]

Seismologists said the frequency of earthquakes this year is average.  They've just been hitting near population centers more frequently.

[Yoru]

Here's the map of earthquake activity under the two glaciers in question over the past 48 hours.

Eyjafjallajökull is clearly marked. The larger one on its immediate right, marked Mýrdalsjökull, is the home of Katla.

The greyish line going up between the two glaciers is a jeep track along which the earliest eruption, the one at Fimmvörðuhals, occurred.

[schild]

Is it unreasonable to assume that the eruption and such surrounding Eyjafjallajökull  is a precursor to Katla destroying Iceland, home of Skyr and Hákarl?

[Yoru]

The danger is there. The world may have to adjust to living without pee shark.

[Surlyboi]

Ragnarok is at hand?

[Merusk]

Only if Cthulhu doesn't wake first.  This oil slick might just be the trick.

[Lakov_Sanite]

is it sad the only thing im upset about in an apocalypse is that i'll probably lose my internet connection?

[RhyssaFireheart]

Not at all.  If the internet goes down, how will you watch the apocalypse in real time streaming video?

[CmdrSlack]

Go outside?

[MahrinSkel]

Go outside?

HERETIC!  BURN HIM!

--Dave

[Morat20]

Is it unreasonable to assume that the eruption and such surrounding Eyjafjallajökull  is a precursor to Katla destroying Iceland, home of Skyr and Hákarl?

Let's hope CCP mirrored their servers somewhere. It'd suck if the destruction of an entire country cut into my EVE time. :)

[WindupAtheist]

We should preemptively evacuate Bjork. Yes I like Bjork. Fuck you.

[Morat20]

We should preemptively evacuate Bjork. Yes I like Bjork. Fuck you.

She wore a swan once. Not many people will try that.

[MahrinSkel]

Is it unreasonable to assume that the eruption and such surrounding Eyjafjallajökull  is a precursor to Katla destroying Iceland, home of Skyr and Hákarl?

Let's hope CCP mirrored their servers somewhere. It'd suck if the destruction of an entire country cut into my EVE time. :)

Eve's servers are in London.

--Dave

[TripleDES]

European/Intl airtraffic shutdown for a bunch of months. That'll be a crapload of fun! I want it to erupt just to witness that clusterfuck.

[01101010]

Investing in Transatlantic ocean vessels as we speak. 

[NiX]

Eve's servers are in London.

--Dave

And it's not like we'll need them to fix bugs.

[Soln]

Bjork is also in London IIRC

[rattran]

So, you're claiming Bjork is the EVE server? Certainly explains a few things.

[Righ]

We should preemptively evacuate Bjork. Yes I like Bjork. Fuck you.

She wore a swan once. Not many people will try that.

Marc Bolan tried to ride a white one. Look where it got him.

[Baldrake]

I, for one, find it awesome that we now have two separate threads for Icelandic volcanoes.

Not to mention that we also have a "fuck the cloud" thread.

Ba-doom bah.

[UnSub]

Only if Cthulhu doesn't wake first.  This oil slick might just be the trick.

Cthulhu rises in the Gulf of Mexico, chokes to death on oil slick. BP claims status of "Saviour of Humanity".

... this is BP's current best-case scenario.

[Righ]

Actually BP's worst case scenario is also their best case scenario. If BP goes bust, its assets will immediately become the subject of a bidding war, and deals will be put on the table for them not to actually go bust. The shareholders unable to ride out the legal wrangling with worthless stock will lose their shirts. The major shareholders will happily buy more shares and reap the rewards of owning Even Nicer Oil Company. If you have all the cards it's easy to play a perfect hand.