Community RTD project to study subglacial volcanic eruption in Iceland
The subglacial volcanic eruption which occurred on Vatnjökull, in Iceland, at the beginning of October 1996 happens to coincide with a project supported by the Community's specific RTD programme in the field of Environment and Climate. The project, launched earlier in 1996, will monitor the behaviour of the glacier, the largest in Europe, over a period of two years. The aim of the project is to explore the links between glacier behaviour and climate change. Although the eruption was not predicted, the presence of the scientific team, and their monitoring equipment, on the glacier at the time of the eruption will be of enormous benefit in analysing it. The effects of the eruption, both on the future behaviour of the glacier and its impact on the surrounding land and inhabitants, will be observed and analysed by the scientific team. In particular, the long-term effects of the eruption on the global climate will be of great interest for the project.
Kraje
Iceland