81–83 of 83 posts
This eruption has caused me to re-read Pliny the Younger's words on the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD: http://www.pompeii.org.uk/s.php/tour-the-two-letters-written... . Words that are worthy of reading both for their extremely vivid and personal description of something that, from our vantage point, happened a very long time ago, and for their eloquence.
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They have a very slight semblance of control over the lava, in the sense that they have built some berms in an attempt to protect important infrastructure (power plant and town) should the lava flow towards it. But ya, mostly they have the people evacuated and taken care of.
I suspect it's too early to suggest the berms are protecting anything. They're just delaying. having said that, the Icelandic Dyke seems to have very "runny" magma. this might help with deflection.
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I can’t find that story in this translation: https://sagadb.org/brennu-njals_saga.en
Sorry, got my sources wrong. It is actually in Íslendingabók, specifically in Kristni Saga chapter 11. This little story is so often cited in Iceland you kind of just learn it in your head and only know it is in some of the sagas.
[0] http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Text%20Series/IslKr.p...