Ash cloud from Icelandic volcano may also reach Baku

"Certain endogenous processes that occurred in the bowels of the Earth caused accumulation of huge quantities of gas that triggered the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajoekull,” said Arif Ismayilzade, Academician at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Department of Earth Sciences, Executive Secretary of the Azerbaijan National Committee of Geologists, Head of the Institute of Geology Department of Petrology and Metallogeny, speaking about unprecedented eruption of the Icelandic volcano that has recently paralyzed flights across Europe.

This volcano was dormant for 200 years, the expert said.

"The fact that the Icelandic volcano kept "silent" for 200 years indicates that there was no corresponding accumulation of energy that could provoke an active volcanic activity. Based on the information that we receive through the media, this volcano is spewing ash, but not lava. This shows that this is initial stage of eruption.”

“Usually, any eruption begins with rapid evolution of gases, which are accompanied by ash emissions. They are usually very powerful and rise high into the sky, in some cases even reach 10 km, and sometimes rise even higher. It is reported that the volcano can continue to erupt throughout the whole year. But I think that its activity will fall, since volcano is of the central type,” the Azerbaijani geologist said.

“Iceland has never seen such a volcanic eruption before. The territory of this country is located on a major rift zone - a zone of deep faults which stretches down to Iceland,” he said.

“It has been reported that a cloud of volcanic ash has reached even Moscow. Muscovites have felt these ash eruptions. I note that weather conditions in Baku are connected with the Moscow weather. Warming or cooling in Moscow affects weather in our capital as well.”

“If the eruption continues until the end of this year, possibly ash clouds from the Icelandic volcano may move for some distance and reach the Caucasus Mountains,” the geologist noted.

“The air flows moved volcanic ash to Moscow. So, it is quite possible that it will reach Baku, too. But it will be a smaller volume of ash, because ash eruption of the central type is usually thrown vertically upward,” the expert explained.


/Day.Az/