Askja
| Askja | |
|---|---|
 Askja caldera in 1984 |
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| Elevation | 1,516 m (4,974 ft) [1] |
| Location | |
 Askja
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| Range | Dyngjufjöll |
| Coordinates | 65°01′48″N 16°45′00″W / 65.03°N 16.75°WCoordinates: 65°01′48″N 16°45′00″W / 65.03°N 16.75°W |
| Geology | |
| Type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 1961 |
Askja (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈascja]) is a stratovolcano situated in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjöll mountains, which rise to 1,510 m (4,954 ft), askja meaning box or caldera in Icelandic[2]
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[edit] Location
The region is only accessible for a few months of the year. Being situated in the rain-shadow to the NE of the Vatnajökull icecap, the area receives only about 450 mm of rainfall annually. The area was used during training for the Apollo program to prepare astronauts for the lunar missions, their main objective in Askja was to study geology.
[edit] Eruptions
Askja was virtually unknown until the tremendous eruption which started on March 29, 1875. Especially in the eastern fjords of Iceland, the ashfall was heavy enough to poison the land and kill livestock. Ash, or tephra from this eruption was wind-blown to Norway and Sweden. The eruption triggered a substantial wave of emigration from Iceland. Another less well-known eruption occurred in the early Holocene, ca 11,000 years ago. Tephra from this eruption has been found in south-east Sweden, Northern Ireland and north Norway. The last eruption of the Askja was in 1961.
The outer caldera of Askja, representing a prehistoric eruption, is about 50 km², and there is evidence of other later caldera-forming events within it. The main crater floor lies at about 1,100 m.
In June 2010, Volcano expert Hazel Rymer said seismic activity was increasing at Askja and that an eruption could be around the corner[3] The increased earthquake activity is located to the northeast of the central volcano, in the direction of Herðubreið. It was ruled out that any activity from Eyjafjallajokull was responsible for the increase in activity at Askja. The news came as scientists continue to watch Katla.
[edit] Öskjuvatn lake
Öskjuvatn is a large lake that fills much of the smaller caldera resulting from the 1875 eruption. Its surface lies about 50 m below the level of the main crater floor and covers about 12 km². When the lake originally formed it was warm, but today it is frozen over for most of the year. Öskjuvatn is the second deepest lake in Iceland at 220 m deep.[4]
[edit] Askja's Víti crater
Víti is a smaller explosion crater on the north east shore of Öskjuvatn, approximately 150 metres diameter. It contains a geothermal lake of mineral-rich, sulphurous, opaque blue water, which is maintained at a comfortable temperature for swimming. (Swimming in these craters is not a good idea because Carbon dioxide can accumulate on top of the water, making you pass out and drown – although it has to be mentioned that there rarely is a calm day in Askja...). Víti was formed in the eruption of 1875.
[edit] Missing scientists
In 1907, the German scientists Walter von Knebel and Max Rudloff visited Askja to study the caldera. While exploring Öskjuvatn in a small boat, they disappeared without a trace. Von Knebel's fiancée Ina von Grumbkow led an expedition to search for them, but no indication of what happened to them was ever found.
[edit] Sights and tourism in the area
In the Dyngjufjöll mountains which surround the Askja caldera can be found the impressive Drekagil, the canyon of dragons. Not far from Askja, there are two other interesting volcanic systems: Herðubreið and Kverkfjöll.
Askja is a popular tourist destination. There are two mountain huts and a campsite at Dreki, by Drekagil, which is about 100 km by a 4x4 F-road, from the Icelandic ring-road. The road continues 8 km up from Dreki into the Askja caldera. It is a walk of about 2.5 km from the car park to Öskjuvatn and Víti. The roads are usually only open for about three to four months, from late June until early October.
[edit] See also
- Geography of Iceland
- Glaciers of Iceland
- Iceland plume
- Lakes of Iceland
- List of islands off Iceland
- List of volcanoes in Iceland
- Rivers of Iceland
- Volcanism in Iceland
- Waterfalls of Iceland
[edit] References
- ^ "Askja". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1703–06=. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ^ See e.g.: Stóra Tölvuorðabókin. Úfgáfa 6.0
- ^ http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/180291/Volcano-expert-warns-of-another-Icelandic-eruption
- ^ http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=40540&ew_0_a_id=336191
[edit] External links
[edit] Photos and videos
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Askja |
[edit] Scientific papers
- Earthice, Univ. of Iceland, description of Askja
- Askja, Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution
- Asta R. Hjartadóttir (2008): The fissure swarm of the Askja central volcano, Univ. of Iceland (PDF)
- Rymer, Hazel: The case of the shrinking volcano, 19.11.2009 (Blogpost of the geophysicist)
- UP60q3hTuL0bQFayjWySe2pbcHXPDZorubx8kmqCf_1h8qfhNK96ufjwrE1OtY0T5jRPfGrBVxChdVBHFtgfgBfthdw5YCWuUAC2x89gg1TGjBR_hf8-1GoQtO&sig=AHIEtbTVxfbK9oIgvpHCLi7O2Yv8YudG7Q A. Key, e.a.: Crustal seismicity beneath Askja volcano reflecting plate tectonics and melt movement. (Zur Erdbebentätigkeit an der Askja) (PDF, 31 KB)
- Rymer, H., C. Locke, B. G. Ófeigsson, P. Einarsson, and E. Sturkell (2010): New mass increase beneath Askja volcano, Iceland – a precursor to renewed activity? Terra Nova, 22, 309-313. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00948.x
- Sigurdur Thorarinsson, and G. E. Sigvaldason: The eruption in Askja 1961, a preliminary report. American Journal of Science, Vol. 260, November 1962, P.641-651; doi:10.2475/ajs.260.9.641 (Abstract)
- Eysteinn Tryggvason: Ground deformation in Askja, Iceland: its source and possible relation to flow of the mantle plume, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 39 (1989) 61-71 61 (PDF)
- Erik Sturkell, Freysteinn Sigmundsson: Continuous deflation of the Askja caldera, Iceland, during the 1983–1998 noneruptive period, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 105, NO. B11, PP. 25,671-25,684, 2000; doi:10.1029/2000JB900178 (PDF)
- Heidi Soosalu, Janet Key, Robert S. White, Clare Knox, Páll Einarsson und Steinunn S. Jakobsdóttir: Lower-crustal earthquakes caused by magma movement beneath Askja volcano on the north Iceland rift, Bulletin of Volcanology, Vol. 72, no. 1, 55-62; DOI: 10.1007/s00445-009-0297-3 (Springer-Link, Abstract)
- Heidi Soosalu, e.a.: Askja 2007 - Scientific Project. (PDF)
- Rymer, Hazel and Tryggvason, Eysteinn (1993): Gravity and elevation changes at Askja, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, 55(5), pp. 362–371. (PDF)
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