Fire and Ice

A volcanologist speaks with Scientific American about the rare case of Iceland’s disruptive volcanic eruption and how long it might last. “Fire and ice have created a doubly dangerous and disruptive volcanic disaster in Iceland that is being felt around the world as locals are evacuated and thousands of flights to and from Northern and Western Europe have been grounded. At least 800 people have been evacuated from the area around the Eyjafjallajokull glacier (about 120 kilometers outside of the capital Reykjavik and from under which the volcano is erupting), to protect them from rushing floodwaters.”