Conference – The 1918 Katla eruption
12. October 2018
Conference – The 1918 Katla eruption
100 years from the onset of eruption on the 12th of October 1918
Vík í Mýrdal, 12.-13. October 2018
Katla´s eruption in 1918 and its impact on the nature and society during and after the eruption.
What would the consequences of Katla‘s eruption be in today‘s society?
On 12th of October this year, a hundred years have passed since the eruption began in Katla volcano that underlies the Mýrdalsjökull Ice Cap. The eruption in 1918 was one of the larger in Katla‘s Caldera in historic times. The eruption caused a massive glacial outburst flood and produced huge amounts of ash that spread over 60.000 km2 around Iceland.
On the occasion that a century has passed since the last great eruption, this momentous event will be commemorated with a conference in Vík í Mýrdal on the 12th and 13th of October. The focal issue will be Katla and the impact it had on the nature and society in Southern Iceland. The conference commences at 9:00 AM on October 12th and will consist of a variety of topics relating to Katla. The lectures will be carried out by a national array of leading experts and scientists in the field of natural sciences with leading research experience of Katla and great familiarity of the influence the volcanoe had on the surrounding landscape, natural environment and human population. The University of Iceland, The Icelandic Meteorological Office, The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration, The Civil Protection and The Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR) are among invited speakers. Moreover, lectures in which first hand stories of people who experienced the eruption will be presented. In further addition, volcanic monitoring methods will be explained and demonstrated eith the tools and equipment used by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. On the 13thof October, a short excursion on the place where eruption´s evidence will be discussed and studied.