Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, with over 20 eruptions each century producing more than 5.5 cubic kilometers of magma. In early 2010, the UK experienced the effects of Iceland’s volatile landscape when the volcanic plume produced by Eyjafjallajökull caused ash to reach the air space of the UK and mainland Europe.

It is the interaction between fire and ice which makes Iceland’s eruptions so spectacular – many eruptions occur beneath glaciers, which contains the pressure of an eruption until it becomes great enough to cause an explosion of magma and steam. Contact between magma and ice causes the magma to cool rapidly to form glass-type needles – the reason aircraft were grounded. Icelandic volcanoes have been active for many thousands of years, and will continue to be so in the future. This talk will explore the mechanism of the eruptions and their effects, not only on the country itself, but further afield.

For more information about this lecture, please download the Jersey and Guernsey flyers.