In an interview on the radio program ‘Spegillinn’ on 23 October geophysicist Páll Einarsson said that an eruption in Upptyppingar would probably disrupt the flow of the immense glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Upptyppingar volcano lies on the bank of Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Einarsson said that the first effects of the eruption would be that the river would evaporate from the heat of the lava. Running lava would block the course of the river so that when the river would materialize again it would collect in a lake that would then overflow with unknown consequences.
This flood could pose a great danger to the surrounding farming communities and hikers, who will be almost untraceable in the great wilderness. Eight hours notice would not be enough time to warn people and secure the wilderness say rescue services.
So, it turns out that the Kárahnjukar project, which so far has entailed the complete destruction of two of Iceland’s major glacial rivers, Jökulá á Brú and Jökulsá á Fljótsdal, just to run an aluminium smelter owned by arms manufacturer ALCOA, is in fact likely to destroy the third major glacial river, the magnificent Jökulsá á Fjöllum.
Members of parliament have repeatedly claimed that they wanted to protect the whole of Jökulsá á Fjöllum, even ALCOA have paid lip service to the proposal.
Jökulsá á Fjöllum hosts Europe’s most powerful waterfall, Dettifoss. The river runs through the protected canyon of Jökulsárgljúfur National Park and past the magical area of Hljóðaklettar, much loved by tourists. All this is now threatened by the man-made eruption.
Some would say that this is vandalism of catastrophic proportions.
See also: >Imminent Man-Made Volcanic Eruption Courtesy of ALCOA and Icelandic Government