Adding a volcano in Iceland can erupt

The economic and health damage caused by Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland may be just the first sign of a worse event.

A National Geographic television crew landed in a position near Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland to record on April 18.Photo: AP.

AP reported that scientists feared that the shaking below the volcano in the Eyjafjallajokull glacier could awaken Katla - a more dangerous volcano nearby. If Katla awakens, world aviation may face a worst-ever scenario.

The eruption of Katla volcano will be about 10 times stronger than the current volcano. The columns of ash that Katla created also flew higher.

The two volcanoes above are about 20 km apart, but scientists think they are connected by a system of lava channels.

However, Katla was buried under the ice about 500 m thick of the Myrdalsjokull glacier. This is the largest glacier in Iceland. Thus, the upper ice layer of Katla is twice as thick as the ice above the volcano of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier.

Katla didn't have any expression yesterday that it would wake up, but scientists still fear it could erupt.

Pall Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, said that sometimes this volcanic activity could lead to the eruption of a nearby volcano. In the past Katla and the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier had erupted at the same time. In the last three activities of Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Katla volcano also wakes up.

After more than 80 years Katla volcano operates once. It last erupted in 1918 - 92 years ago.

That fact made the people around Katla volcano fear. Svenn Palsson, the head of Vik village near Katla volcano, said the villagers planned to evacuate in case Katla was active.

With a population of about 300 people, Vik is covered with 3 mm thick ash from Eyjafjallajokull volcano, but their real concern is Katla. If this volcano erupts, the ice will melt very quickly and people only have two or three hours to arrive safely.

'We rehearsed to evacuate for 30 minutes , ' Palsson said.

Palsson said people in the villages around Katla volcano had less than 20 minutes to escape if it worked.

The thick ice above Katla is also a danger because when the volcano erupts, lava will mix with ice to create explosions. Thanks to the explosions that ash can soar up very high. Strong winds will take them throughout Europe.

In the past few days, the scientific world has only discovered small tremors beneath Katla volcano. They believe it is the movement of glaciers. But the operation of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano makes Katla volcanic measurements less accurate.

'Katla's internal observations are becoming more difficult , ' said Kristin Vogfjord, a geologist at the Icelandic Meteorological Agency.

Vogfjord and Iceland's geophysists used vibration detectors and global positioning devices around volcanoes to track vibrations and the rise of the earth. They found that the area around the Eyjafjallajokull volcano rose about 8 centimeters in recent months and lowered slightly before the volcano erupted. It was a sign of lava tanks beneath the volcano rising to the ground.

According to Vogfjord, Katla volcano can wake up by the activity of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano due to the displacement of pressure in the earth's crust. Lava flows spurt out of the Eyjafjallajokull crater, creating pressure shifts.

Like earthquakes, volcanic eruption is a factor that scientists cannot predict.

'Katla can work today or after 100 years, but nobody knows the exact time. All we can do is get ready, ' Vogfjord commented.