Sinking Iceland volcano crater raises flood worries

[Judi Lynn]

Sinking Iceland volcano crater raises flood worries
Source: Reuters - Wed, 10 Sep 2014 14:33 GMT

REYKJAVIK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano registered one of its most powerful earth tremors yet on Wednesday while the sinking of its caldera raised concerns of an eruption and flooding, authorities said.

The caldera, the cauldron-like crater at the top of a volcano, had sunk by up to around 20 metres since last week as magma channeled through underground passages moves away from the volcano, Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, geophysics professor at the University of Iceland, told public service broadcaster RUV.

The caldera covers about 80 square km and is covered by an ice cap that is 700 to 800 metres thick.

A cloud of abrasive ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, in a different region of Iceland, closed much of Europe's air space for six days in 2010, stranding tens of thousands of passengers, after an eruption under the ice cap.

"We take this increased subsidence in the caldera of Bardarbunga volcano very seriously, due to a possible large eruption and glacial flood," said Vidir Reynisson, Department Manager at Iceland's Civil Protection Department.

More:
http://www.trust.org/item/20140910143342-urvl0/?source=jtOtherNews2

[emsimon33]

1. And I was worried about the ash!

I never thought of the water hazard!