The Volcanic Eifel or Vulkan Eifel (German: Vulkaneifel), also known as the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF),[1] is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of this volcanic field are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava streams and volcanic craters like the Laacher See. The Volcanic Eifel is still volcanically active today. One sign of this activity is the escaping gases in the Laacher See.
Geographical location
The Volcanic Eifel stretches from the Rhine to the Wittlich Depression. It is bordered in the south and southwest by the South Eifel, in the west by Luxembourg and Belgian Ardennes and in the north by the North Eifel including the Hohes Venn. To the east the Rhine forms its geographical boundary, with no volcanicity immediately beyond it.
The Volcanic Eifel is divided into three natural regions:
The centre of the Volcanic Eifel is the region around Daun and Manderscheid and the areas within the Mayen-Koblenz district.
The landscape of the Volcanic Eifel is dominated by recent volcanism. Volcanic craters, thick pumice and basalt layers and maars create a diverse landscape that clearly witnesses to very recent events in geological terms.
The entire Volcanic Eifel covers an area of about 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi) and as of 2007[update] has a population of about 200,000.
Volcanoes
The following volcanoes belong to the Eifel, sorted by height in metres (m) above sea level (Normalhöhennull, NHN)[2]:
Ernstberg (also: Erresberg), 699.9 m (2,300 ft), county of Vulkaneifel – west
The tephras deposited by past eruptions of the Volcanic Eifel are lithological deposits that are radiometrically dateable via argon-argon dating of K-feldspar grains. These have in turn been utilised to ascertain the ages of climatic changes such as transitions from glacial to interglacial states during the Pleistocene.[1]
Future activity
There is thought that future eruptions may occur in the Eifel, as:[3][4]
Each year the Eifel rises by about a millimetre.
Geophysicists found that crust under the Eifel is thinner than most continental crust, suggesting that under the Eifel is a hot zone where magma is rising.
Persistent small earthquakes and underground heating.
Map of flood lake that may happen if the Rhine is blocked by a voluminous eruption in the Eifel
In 2020, Professor Kreemer noted that Eifel was the only region within an area of Europe studied where ground motion happened at significantly higher levels than expected.[5] It is possible that such movements originate from a rising magma plume.[5] This activity does not imply an immediate eruptive danger, but might suggest an increase in volcanic and seismic activity in the region.[5]
References
^ a bvan den Bogaard, P.; Hall, C. M.; Schmincke, H.-U.; York, D. (30 November 1989). "Precise single-grain 40Ar/39 Ar dating of a cold to warm climate transition in Central Europe". Nature. 342 (6249): 523–525. doi:10.1038/342523a0. ISSN 1476-4687. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
^GeoViewer of the Federal Office of Geoscience and Resources (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe)
^Is there still volcanic activity in the Eifel?
^Germany: a danger of volcanic eruptions?
^ a b cKettley, Sebastian (11 June 2020). "Volcano warning: 'Something is brewing under Europe' Geologists make incredible discovery". Express. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
Further reading
Wilhelm Meyer: Geologie der Eifel. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 2013. ISBN 978-3-510-65279-2
Hans-Ulrich Schmincke: Vulkane der Eifel: Aufbau, Entstehung und heutige Bedeutung, Springer Spektrum, Wiesbaden 2014. ISBN 978-3-8274-2985-8