Nihil Wrap-Up From Eyjafjallajökull

Via Newshoggers, hope for a new dark age, to wit: "longer term consequences for public health, military operations and the world economy." Suffer & die, bastards.

Big picture, the possible future looks good for getting worse.

As well as becoming more frequent, eruptions seem to get more intense during the high-activity phases. A number of Iceland's most devastating eruptions – including that of the volcano Laki in 1783 that killed over half of Iceland's livestock and led to a famine that wiped out about a quarter of the human population – have occurred when the Atlantic rift system has been active. "If we are entering a more active phase, these bigger eruptions will become more likely," says Thordarson.

Judging by recent volcanic and earthquake activity, Thordarson and his colleagues believe that Iceland is entering its next active phase and estimate it will last for 60 years or so, peaking between 2030 and 2040.

More on volcanic influence on yada. And Icelandic.