My knowledge of Iceland prior to last week’s volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was slim at best. I knew of shaggy, squat horses that ran wild over vast open swaths of land. Their traditional foods such as skyr, cured ram scrota, fermented shark and singed sheep heads have always held a perplexing fascination, while singers such as Bjork have paved an unforgettable international reputation. Essentially, it’s a culture I’ve eagerly wanted to wrap by brain around but have yet the opportunity to do so, until now.
With the mass amount of media covering the looming cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull sitting maniacally over our heads, I’ve learned a considerable amount about Iceland. Yet, Ryan and I couldn’t help but wonder if there would be a direct effect to European vineyards, both now and in years to come.
Mount Pinatubo erupted in June of 1991, producing the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta. It sent approximately 10 billion metric tonnes of magma into the air, along with 20 million tons of SO2, while Eyjafjallajökull is only sending approximately 3,000 tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. For a volcano to have a measurable effect on the climate, large amounts of sulfur dioxide must be emitted into the stratosphere, as exemplified by Pinatubo, which dropped temperatures by approximately 0.5 °C (0.9 °F)
If, however, the cloud lingers for months at a times, not only could we see a significant reduction in photosynthesis, but also a direct impact on the vintage itself. “I have never seen any direct studies on this issue. The closest parallel is the issue of smoke from forest fires which can cause depending on its severity, timing in the plant’s growth cycle, and length.” smoke taint in wine “The impacts would depend mainly on ash thickness, the type and growing condition of a crop, the presence of soluble fluoride on the ash, timing and intensity of subsequent rainfall. Most of the studies discuss large deposition effects (>100 mm of ash). But I could see where small quantities of both solid or liquid deposition could have a short term effect on plant growth.”
