UK Volcanic Activity


Volcanic activity much like earthquakes and tsunami's in the United Kingdom have something in common; they are unheard of.
According to British Geological Survey , the last active volcano in the UK occurred about 60 million years ago! "The reason why we haven't had any volcanoes for about 60 million years in Britain is that we are now in a in a tectonically quiet part of the world. Most volcanoes occur near the edges of the Earth’s tectonic plates but Britain is now a long way from such geologically active areas."
Since the UK is located on a quiet part of the tectonic map, they do not have to worry about volcanos, earthquakes or large tsunami's. 

The closest active Volcano's are located according to Londonist, Vesuvius in Italy and Öræfajökull on the southeast coast of Iceland. Both sites being a little over 1000 miles from London. Londonist states "That being said, prevailing westerly winds in the UK mean that we are unlikely to be directly affected by an eruption of Vesuvius – unlike Icelandic volcanoes. Öræfajökull, which last erupted in 1728, is located in the East Volcanic Zone, a particularly active region that also includes the infamous Eyjafjallajökull and Grímsvötn volcanoes." Meaning that Italy has had no affect on the UK so far however; Iceland Volcano's have had affects in air travel in the UK because ash makes it's way into the UK and Europe. "The lava melts the ice almost instantaneously, producing hot water vapour that then mixes with the lava to form huge clouds of ash." This is dangerous because the ash can block the air supply of jet engines and cause their engines to fail. (scary). 


The affects of the Icelandic volcanos can mean bad air quality to mask as a smokey fog that "obscured the sun and caused extreme temperatures and failed crops in 1783. Imagine an entire summer of intense smog. That's what volcanoes can do, even at a distance of 1,000 miles."
I think it's interesting that from thousands of miles away Volcano's can spread their affects all over. I also think it is interesting how Volcanos are the reason for some of the worlds most beautiful landscapes.

Sources:
British Geological Survey
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/browse.cfm?sec=8&cat=51
Londonist
https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/volcano-london

Comments

  1. Ana GGFebruary 29, 2020 at 1:46 PM

    Yes, this eruption pretty much stopped flights across Europe for days....it shows that this hazard doesn't need to be located inside your country to be a danger...

    ReplyDelete

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