Iceland Eruption Won't Have Global Impact

Friday, April 16, 2010 - 10:35 in Earth & Climate

The eruption of the Icelandic Eyjafjallajokull volcano that sent a huge plume of ash into the atmosphere is unlikely to have a global impact and will probably dissipate in the next several days, according to a University of Colorado, Boulder atmospheric scientist. Professor Brian Toon, chair of CU-Boulder's atmospheric and oceanic sciences department, compared the Icelandic eruption to the popping of a champagne bottle cork. When the pressure is released by breaching the rock "cork," gases bubble out, spewing tiny rock particles into the air like champagne droplets. Such rocks threaten the safety of airliners. read more

Read the whole article on

More from

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net