![]() ![]() ![]() 27, 1883, is, in many ways, the most famous modern volcanic cataclysm. The obliteration of the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in a series of eruptions ending on Aug. The eruption is also tangentially credited with the invention of the bicycle, as the cost of maintaining horses rose, both because of the cost of oats and the death of many horses. Crops failed worldwide in what historian John Post called "the last great subsistence crisis of the Western world." A foot of snow fell in Quebec City, Quebec, in June. The result was the "year without a summer" in 1816. Tambora in what is now Indonesia cast a veil of ash around the world, lowering global temperatures by more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Global Volcanism Program, it was the only eruption in at least 1,000 years to rate a VEI 7. The Tambora eruption was the largest in modern history. (For a look at Iceland's long volcanic history, click here.) Tambora Here are the five VEI 6 and above eruptions since 1700, according to Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program. Given that each number on the scale represents an eruption 10 times more powerful than the previous, that means Eyjafjallajökull is 10,000 times less powerful than one in Indonesia's Sunda Islands in 1815. The biggest eruption of the past millennium, by contrast, was a 7. In other words, eruptions like Eyjafjallajökull happen virtually every year somewhere in the world. But as a volcanic event, it barely rates mentioning.īy the measure of the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) – a sort-of Richter scale for eruptions – the current outburst is probably a 2 or a 3, experts say. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland is having a major impact on travel and commerce in Europe and worldwide. ![]()
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