Iceland travel. Summer House clouse to Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Iceland tourism

We can recall the activities of Santorini, which in the II millennium BC destroyed the Minoan civilization, or the explosion of Vesuvius, which destroyed the city of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the year 79. At the same time, volcanoes bring not only disasters and catastrophes, but also great benefits, having a significant impact on the life of our entire planet.

During volcanic eruptions, huge amounts of ash are ejected from their craters, which accumulate over vast areas around the summit. Depending on the chemical composition of the magma, this ash contains various elements and minerals. Soils on the slopes of volcanoes and in the adjacent valleys are very fertile. In Italy, the best harvests are harvested in the regions around Naples, where the activities of Vesuvius created optimal conditions for plant life. Another fertile region of the planet is the island of Hawaii. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, sweet potatoes were grown here in large numbers, which contributed to the flourishing of Hawaiian culture and the flourishing of local agricultural communities.

In volcanic rocks, precious metals (silver, gold, copper) and gems (opal, obsidian, agate) are often found. Scientists still can not accurately determine how diamonds are formed in the bowels of the Earth, but it is well known that these precious stones are carried to the surface by volcanic magma during the formation of kimberlite pipes. Animals and plants in Iceland is not so much. Vegetation covers a quarter of the country, and trees occupy 1% of the area. Animals include reindeer, arctic fox, fox and mink, and seals and whales in coastal waters. There are also Atlantic Puffins here - funny red-billed birds that have become one of the symbols of the country. They can be seen and captured on small islands and sheer cliffs - birds are tame and are not afraid of people.

About 56 million years ago, the average temperature on the planet rose sharply. A volcano in Scotland could cause prehistoric global warming. A powerful explosive eruption from the Red Hills on the Isle of Skye may have caused massive climate disruption. Large explosive eruptions of volcanoes can have a lasting effect on the climate and are considered responsible for the serious climatic consequences in the history of the Earth. One such event occurred about 56 million years ago, when global temperatures rose five to eight degrees Celsius. This event was called the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. The warm period was associated with volcanic activity in the North Atlantic region, especially in Greenland, the British Isles and the modern North Sea region. However, so far no major explosive eruptions have been confirmed in Scotland.

A volcanic edifice 1666 m high with a peak covered with the sixth largest glacier in Iceland rises above the surrounding space, like an island. The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafyatlayokudl showed how the role of volcanoes and volcanic ash in people's lives varies with the development of human society, its technical capabilities, level of science, principles of morality and ethics.

The activity of volcanoes leads to the rise of bottom areas in the seas and oceans, with the result that new islands appear on a geographical map of the planet. The entire Hawaiian chain of islands was created by constant eruptions occurring in the mantle hot spot. Thanks to volcanoes, Micronesia, the Ryukyu Islands (between Taiwan and Japan), the Aleutian Islands (off the coast of Alaska), the Mariana Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean appeared.

In the Mediterranean, giant volcanoes built the Ionian Islands, Cyprus, Crete, and in the Caribbean Sea - Antilles. The emergence of unique plant and animal species in new land areas contributes to the creation of balanced ecosystems and the emergence of new levels of biodiversity. Another advantage of volcanism is the formation of geothermal fields with relatively high heat flux.

Fields with relatively low temperatures usually appear as a result of heating below active faults, and fields with high temperatures are associated with active volcanic activity. In such areas you can find hot springs, geysers, boiling mud pools, which are often popular tourist destinations. But, besides their natural beauty, they are invaluable as a source of geothermal energy. In countries such as Kenya, Iceland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Costa Rica and El Salvador, electricity produced in geothermal fields provides a significant portion of the state's energy supply.

Active volcanoes actively influence the formation of clouds, even when they are at rest, because they emit large volumes of gases, up to 95-98% of which is water vapor. Under ordinary conditions, such volcanic emanations are almost indistinguishable by the eye. However, under certain atmospheric conditions (for example, during the approach of the warm, moist front of the next cyclone), the vapor released by the volcano condenses above its peak in the form of a kind of "cap". By this way, by the way, local residents almost accurately predict the onset of bad weather. However, in ordinary weather, but with increased fumarole activity, an independent and sometimes quite large cloud forms above the top of a particular volcano. It can stand over a volcanic structure for several minutes, and several hours, and even several days.

Our Earth is not all solid stone through, rather it resembles an egg: on top there is a thin hard shell, under it there is a viscous layer of hot mantle, and in the center there is a solid core. The terrestrial "shell" is called the lithosphere, which means "stone shell" in Greek. The thickness of the lithosphere is on average about 1% of the radius of the globe: on land it is 70-80 kilometers, and in the depths of the oceans it can be only 20 kilometers. The entire lithosphere is cut by faults and resembles a mosaic. The mantle temperature is thousands of degrees: closer to the core, the temperature is greater, closer to the shell - less. Due to the temperature difference, the mantle substance is mixed: hot masses rise up, and cold masses drop (just like boiling water in a pot or kettle, but it only happens a thousand times slower). Although the mantle has been warmed up to enormous temperatures, due to the enormous pressure in the center of the Earth it is not liquid, but viscous - like a very thick resin. The "shell" lithosphere, as it were, floats in a viscous mantle, plunging a little into it under the weight of its weight.

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