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Iceland has had active volcanoes all the time it has been inhabited. Does anyone know what the "traditional" response to these sorts of ground movements was?

by pcrh 3y ago

CaptArmchair 3y ago
Historically? The 1783 Laki eruption comes to my mind. Back then, a 25km long fissure with 130 vents opened. About 14km3 of lava and 1km3 of tephra was emitted. Lava fountains were estimated to have reached between 800m and 1400m. Some 20-25% of the population died, 50% of cattle and 50% of the horse population perished. It is argued that this eruption was the catalyst for the French Revolution, as the amount of emitted gasses caused extreme weather patterns across Europe (and the world) throughout the 1780s leading to famine, diseases and social unrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki In contemporary times, there's the 1973 eruption of Eldfell on the island of Heimaey. It destroyed some 400 homes and led to a temporary evacuation of some 5.300 inhabitants. By 1975, some 80% of the population had returned. Moreover, today it's the foremost fishing center of Island with over 1/3rd of the total fish catch originating from its harbor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldfell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldfell
- avgcorrection 3y ago
  > By 1975, some 80% of the population had returned. Of course they had to come back to “home island”.
- pcrh 3y ago
  >The parish minister and provost of Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla, Jón Steingrímsson (1728–1791), grew famous for the eldmessa [ˈɛltˌmɛsːa] ("fire mass") that he delivered on 20 July 1783. I looked this up, and found this: "In his introduction to the translation Guðmundur E. Sigvaldson classifies Jón’s Eldritið as a “scientific classic as well is a literary jewel.” [0] It chronicles the aftermath of the eruption in some detail (i.e. people did not flee the region, for some reason....), e.g.: >The poisonous compounds leaked out of the Laki craters caused, as Jón depicts so graphically, the skin to rot off the spines of horses, swelling in their heads, jaws, and joints, rotting insides, and shrinking bones. The sheep and cattle suffered similarly. The meat from these animals was “both foul-smelling and bitter and full of poison, so that many a person died as a result of eating it” (Fires of the Earth, 76). [0] https://www.medievalist.com/articles/strongjn-versus-the-volcano-an-eighteenth-century-icelandic-priests-account-of-a-moment-of-crisisstrong https://www.medievalist.com/articles/strongjn-versus-the-vol...
hutzlibu 3y ago
"Does anyone know what the "traditional" response to these sorts of ground movements was?" The very old tradition was to increase the amounts of sacrifices to the gods, because clearly they were angry.
- pcrh 3y ago
  Is there documentation for this? Icelanders are Christian (since when, I'm not sure), and would more likely pray. Also I don't think there is a history of human sacrifice in Norway/Denmark/Scandinavia.
  - hutzlibu 3y ago
    With the very old tradition I meant the pre christian times (which is why I wrote "the gods"). And I was not necessarily talking about human sacrifice, even though it seems very likely, that this happened as well. https://scandinaviafacts.com/did-the-vikings-perform-human-sacrifices/ https://scandinaviafacts.com/did-the-vikings-perform-human-s...
  - hinoki 3y ago
    Nothing specific to earthquakes and volcanoes or other bad omens, but there was probably some human sacrifice. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blót https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blót https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ättestupa https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ättestupa
troyvit 3y ago
This article talks about the Eldfell eruption in 1973. It's one of the few cases where people were able to divert a lava flow. https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-what-does-it-take-successfully-divert-a-lava-flow https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-wh...
- m4rtink 3y ago
  IIRC, they also used the remaining solid lava flow for district heating for a while so that it cooled down faster and could be trucked out of the way where necessary.

Iceland has had active volcanoes all the time it has been inhabited. Does anyone know what the "traditional" response to these sorts of ground movements was?

by pcrh 3y ago

Iceland has had active volcanoes all the time it has been inhabited. Does anyone know what the "traditional" response to these sorts of ground movements was?

CaptArmchair 3y ago

Historically? The 1783 Laki eruption comes to my mind. Back then, a 25km long fissure with 130 vents opened. About 14km3 of lava and 1km3 of tephra was emitted. Lava fountains were estimated to have reached between 800m and 1400m. Some 20-25% of the population died, 50% of cattle and 50% of the horse population perished. It is argued that this eruption was the catalyst for the French Revolution, as the amount of emitted gasses caused extreme weather patterns across Europe (and the world) throughout the 1780s leading to famine, diseases and social unrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki In contemporary times, there's the 1973 eruption of Eldfell on the island of Heimaey. It destroyed some 400 homes and led to a temporary evacuation of some 5.300 inhabitants. By 1975, some 80% of the population had returned. Moreover, today it's the foremost fishing center of Island with over 1/3rd of the total fish catch originating from its harbor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldfell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldfell

avgcorrection 3y ago
> By 1975, some 80% of the population had returned. Of course they had to come back to “home island”.
pcrh 3y ago
>The parish minister and provost of Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla, Jón Steingrímsson (1728–1791), grew famous for the eldmessa [ˈɛltˌmɛsːa] ("fire mass") that he delivered on 20 July 1783. I looked this up, and found this: "In his introduction to the translation Guðmundur E. Sigvaldson classifies Jón’s Eldritið as a “scientific classic as well is a literary jewel.” [0] It chronicles the aftermath of the eruption in some detail (i.e. people did not flee the region, for some reason....), e.g.: >The poisonous compounds leaked out of the Laki craters caused, as Jón depicts so graphically, the skin to rot off the spines of horses, swelling in their heads, jaws, and joints, rotting insides, and shrinking bones. The sheep and cattle suffered similarly. The meat from these animals was “both foul-smelling and bitter and full of poison, so that many a person died as a result of eating it” (Fires of the Earth, 76). [0] https://www.medievalist.com/articles/strongjn-versus-the-volcano-an-eighteenth-century-icelandic-priests-account-of-a-moment-of-crisisstrong https://www.medievalist.com/articles/strongjn-versus-the-vol...

hutzlibu 3y ago

"Does anyone know what the "traditional" response to these sorts of ground movements was?" The very old tradition was to increase the amounts of sacrifices to the gods, because clearly they were angry.

pcrh 3y ago
Is there documentation for this? Icelanders are Christian (since when, I'm not sure), and would more likely pray. Also I don't think there is a history of human sacrifice in Norway/Denmark/Scandinavia.
- hutzlibu 3y ago
  With the very old tradition I meant the pre christian times (which is why I wrote "the gods"). And I was not necessarily talking about human sacrifice, even though it seems very likely, that this happened as well. https://scandinaviafacts.com/did-the-vikings-perform-human-sacrifices/ https://scandinaviafacts.com/did-the-vikings-perform-human-s...
- hinoki 3y ago
  Nothing specific to earthquakes and volcanoes or other bad omens, but there was probably some human sacrifice. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blót https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blót https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ättestupa https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ättestupa

troyvit 3y ago

This article talks about the Eldfell eruption in 1973. It's one of the few cases where people were able to divert a lava flow. https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-what-does-it-take-successfully-divert-a-lava-flow https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-wh...

m4rtink 3y ago
IIRC, they also used the remaining solid lava flow for district heating for a while so that it cooled down faster and could be trucked out of the way where necessary.