Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.08.2014, Blaðsíða 21

The most prominent, truly devastating volcanic eruption
in Icelanders’ public memory is arguably the late-18th cen-
tury eruption in the volcanic ridge Laki, followed by the
Móðuharðindi, two years of all-over brutal hardships. The
sky went dark, and the sun faded, while ashes destroyed
pastures, and temperatures sank, leading to the death of
an estimated 75% of the country's livestock and a fifth of
its human population. Then there was the late-19th cen-
tury eruption, after which a fifth of the island’s populace
moved to Canada. The ashes from the sudden 1973 erup-
tion in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago destroyed 400
homes. One person was killed by the fumes.
A volcano is not a harmless spectacle.
The real thing is, at best, a nuisance.
Some hotspots lie beneath glaciers, so
even relatively modest eruptions eas-
ily cause floods that tear roads apart,
while the ashes still destroy pastures,
and so on. All caused by magma. It's
down there, always, at around 1000°C.
In its subterranean state it has only
been directly observed three times in
history, two of which were in Iceland.
When it surfaces it changes its name
and substance, becomes lava. The de-
structive powers of those things give
them a bad rep, with good reason.
What follows is a purely speculative
approach on opinion-shaping factors
concerning volcanoes.
I erupt, therefore,
momentarily, I am
I used to perceive Iceland as a some-
what schizoid society, before learning
that narcissism has come to be consid-
ered a more useful term to approach
the same set of symptoms: never quite
sure if it's real or not, Iceland seeks
constant self-validation from others.
This can be easily verified by experi-
ments. Say to a local, for example, that
you heard that the 1783 eruption in
Laki destroyed French harvests, lead-
ing to a famine, which in turn caused
anger and proved a decisive factor
leading to the 1789 French Revolution.
This is not out of the blue, by the way.
Benjamin Franklin, serving as a US
diplomat in Europe at the time, wrote
of “a constant fog over all Europe and
a great part of north America" during
the summer of 1783, and described the
succeeding winter as the most severe
for years. Franklin also speculated
whether the fog and drop in tempera-
ture might be caused by the eruption
in Iceland. The winter was indeed a
cold one, 2°C below average in Eu-
rope and 4.8°C below average in North
America. Crops failed, people died.
Since 2011, Franklin's Laki hypothesis,
however, seems to have been refuted,
as a research team of the Earth Insti-
tute at Columbia University concluded
that sea surface temperature oscilla-
tions were a more likely explanation
for the cold spell. And, presumably, for
the French Revolution.
The eruption was catastrophic
enough, regardless. "More poison fell
from the sky than words can describe:
ash, volcanic hairs, rain full of sul-
phur and saltpeter, all of it mixed with
sand," wrote cleric Jón Steingrímsson
at the time, continuing: "All the earth's
plants burned, withered and turned
grey, one after another, as the fire in-
creased and neared the settlements."
He became famous for his "fire-mass,"
which reportedly halted the flow of
lava before it entered said settlements,
through words of faith. He may have
saved his townspeople, but the follow-
ing hardships killed at least one fifth
of the island’s total population. And
then some. Professor John Grattan,
at the University of Wales's Institute
of Geography and Earth Sciences, es-
timates that through the summer of
1783, air pollution from Laki killed
23,000 in Britain alone.
But, see: I am already doing what I
claim the subject of your experiment
would do: on the defensive, having
found out that the French Revolution
may not have been caused by Laki,
I still go on bragging—on behalf of
geological incidents, as devastating
as they are past. Knowing better is
certainly not enough. For a compact
population, evidence of having in any
way played a decisive part in the un-
folding of historical events, even as
History's own evil twin, is a matter of
some pride.
Mention Franklin's Laki hypothe-
sis to a local and I bet you will be faced
with a suppressed but unmistakably
sly smile. The 2010 eruption in Eyjaf-
jallajökull is not known to have caused
any human fatalities. The flight delays
it did cause, all over Europe (insert sly
smiley), evidently made some people
a bit embarrassed for causing all this
trouble. As accomplices to a volcano.
Even a cause of embarrassment, how-
ever, is proof of one's existence. Com-
pared with a chronic lack of such evi-
dence, this feels good. When you see a
conflicted smile on the face of someone
apologizing for the mess, it is not glee.
It is relief for feeling, momentarily,
real. This potential acknowledgement
of historical existence is definitely a
pro-volcanic factor in public opinion.
Icelandic króna rises
to 4-year high, at 1.34
per click
The graph featured in this article de-
picts the frequency of searches for the
word “Iceland” on Google over the last
ten years. In that period, there is no
point in time that comes close to the
2010 eruption. The 2008 bank crash
hardly measures on the same scale.
The Eyjafjallajökull eruption provided
the only known instance of Iceland's
fame surpassing peak-Justin Tim-
berlake —which, according to Google,
happened around his performance at
the 2004 American Super Bowl. Ey-
jafjallajökull was bigger than Timber-
lake at the Super Bowl, that's how big
it was.
These are narcissistic times, claim
at least some qualified profession-
als, as well as a lot of magazine cov-
ers, citing social media and selfies as
evidence. Attention, as measured in
clicks, has in any case become a valu-
able, if volatile, currency, and the at-
tention heaped on Iceland during
that last eruption proved to be eas-
ily exchanged for actual money. More
easily than the local currency, in any
case. Since 2010, Promote Iceland,
A Volcano Bigger
Than Timberlake
Or: How we learned to stop
worrying and love the lava
Words by Haukur Már Helgason
Photos by Elli Thor and Haukur Már Helgason
2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Iceland
Justin Timberlake
Interest over time
Google searches for “Iceland” through ten years. Spike on the left marks the
2008 bank collapse. The taller peak on the right marks the 2010 eruption in
Eyjafjallajökull. Peak Timberlake at Super Bowl In 2004, Peak Iceland through
Eyjafjallajökull in 2010.
2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Iceland
Interest over time
Google searches for “Iceland” through ten years. Spike on the left marks the
2008 bank collapse. The taller peak on the right marks the 2010 eruption in
Eyjafjallajökull.
Continues Over
Feature | Tourism
21
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2014