🌋Case Study - Eyjafjallajokull 2010 Flashcards
What type of plate boundary is Eyjafjallajokull on?
Constructive
Where is Eyjafjallajokull?
Southern Iceland, beneath an ice cap
Which plates are involved?
Eurasian plate is moving east, North American plate is moving west
How fast are the plates moving?
2.5cm per year
Why does magma rise?
Because there’s lower pressure at the surface
What is a Jökulhlaup?
A flow of meltwater from a volcano and ice cap
How many people died in the eruption?
0
How many people were evacuated?
500 farmers and their families
What happened to the roads around the volcano before the eruption?
They were shut down to prevent people using them
What did the ash do to local water supplies?
Contaminated them with high concentrations of fluoride
How was the ash redistributed?
By winds, pumped high into the atmosphere above Northern and Western Europe
Why were the such disruptions to aircraft?
The particles in the ash clog up the plane engines as they attempt to fly through them
How much money was lost per day by airlines?
£130 million according to the IATA
How many flights were cancelled?
107,000, 48% of total air traffic and affecting 10 million people
How did the eruption affect Kenya?
20% of their economy is based on export of green vegetables and flowers to Europe and are transported by air
How many Kenyan farmers were temporarily unemployed?
50,000
How much CO2 was released into the air every day of the eruption?
30,000 tonnes
How did people in rural areas of Iceland have to protect themselves?
They had to wear goggles and face masks to prevent them inhaling the ash or it getting into their eyes. Visibility was less than a few meters.
What was done to the main road in Iceland as a primary response to eruption warnings?
The embankments were removed and the road collapsed to prevent further damage by floodwaters.
How did the Icelandic Red Cross respond?
By mobilising 35 staff and volunteers, opening four shelters and allowing 200+ people to take refuge there
How did Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport respond?
1500 beds were there for stranded travellers
What was done to roads after the eruption?
They were reconstructed, including Iceland’s Route 1 to again allow people to move around the country
How were flood defences responded to?
They were reconstructed and strengthened to protect locals form any further flooding?
What kinds of research were done in response?
Research into the effects of ash on aircraft so that if a similar eruption were to happen then the losses could be minimised
What was the response to Iceland’s rivers?
The ash was dug it of the bottom of them to make them deeper and prevent further flooding
What did the Icelandic National Society do?
Provided psychological support particularly for children who had been traumatised by the loud explosions from the eruption.
The USGS provided…
…scientists for the ICAO’s international task force and worked with the UK met office to improve ash forecasting
Eruption: When was the main eruption?
19th April 2010
Eruption: When did the eruption start?
20th March 2010
Eruption: How high did the ash plume rise?
11km
Eruption: Where was the dominant lava flow?
To the west, but there was one to the east too
Eruption: Why was ash distributed at a high velocity?
Due to the jetstreams above Iceland
Eruption: What percentage of the ash plume was under 10 micro metres?
24%
I.R.: How many farmers and their families were evacuated in Iceland? What kind of farmers were they?
500- mainly sheep farmers
P.E.: How many farms were destroyed by flooding and ash?
20
P. E.: What happened to some of the lambs?
They died- possibly because of high levels of ash
P. E.: How thick was the ice cap that melted?
150m
S. E.: Which flights were cancelled?
European and Trans-Atlantic flights
S. E.: How much of Kenya’s economy is based on the export of green vegetables?
20%
S. E.: How much did shares in air travel and tourism agencies drop by?
4%
S. E.: Which industry saw reduced demand?
Oil industry- less fuel needed
S. E.: Name 2 effected sporting events
Boston Marathon, Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix
S. E.: How much did London lose in tourism?
£102 million (estimated)
I.R.: Why were sections of the Route 1 embankment breached?
To allow floodwater through
I.R.: Why were Icelandic farmers warned not to let cattle drink water?
It had high levels of fluoride
I.R.: Why did countries like the UK track ash?
So they could make an informed decision about air traffic
I.R.: What did the Icelandic Met Office do?
Monitor Eyjafallajokull 24/7
Observe all 30 active volcanoes and record any signs of possible activity
I.R.: What did the Icelandic Red Cross do?
. Provide food for evacuated farmers
. Translate International Volcanic Health Hazard Network into Icelandic and distribute it
I.R.: Who set up a 24 hour hotline informing Icelandic residents of updates?
Icelandic Red Cross and authorities
L.R.: What did stranded passengers demand?
Compensation
L.R.: What did Ryan Air try to argue in court?
It was an extraordinary event (they lost)
L.R.: What’s Futurevolc?
A 3.5 year project involving 26 groups in order to develop new ways of monitoring volcanoes
L.R.: Give 3 examples of groups involved with Futurevolc
Bristol University, German Aerospace Centre, Icelandic Met Office
L.R.: Which €80 billion project did volcanic monitoring feature in?
Horizon 2010
L.R.: What’s the point in Horizon 2010?
Researching ways to support Europe’s economic competitiveness (7 year project)
L.R.: Describe 3 ways that the Civil Aviation Authority has changed its’ volcanic ash arrangements?
. New system regulating how aviation deals with ash- more airspace to be used safely
. Radar in Iceland, helps observe ash density
. Establishment of 2 working groups to act as advisers on ash forecasting (scientists and airlines)
Where are shied volcanoes usually found
Constructive locations
When did it erupt?
From 14th to 20th April 2010
How much did Europe’s biggest tourism businesses loose per day?
£5 million and £6 million
What company did benefit?
Eurostar
What did Eurostar see?
An increase of nearly a third, with 50,000 extra passengers travelling on their trains
How much did Kenya’s economy loose?
£2.8 billion
What company halted their production and why?
Nissan because it was not able to import parts from Ireland
How many days was the travel ban?
8
How many flights were cancelled impacting how many passengers?
107,000 flights were cancelled accounting for 10 million passengers
How many emissions of CO2 were prevented through the mass grounding of European flights?
2.8 million
How much ash and tephra was released?
250 million cubic metres
What did the European Red Cross provide particularly for children?
Psychological support
What did Iceland declare?
A state of emergency
What did the Dutch Red Cross do?
Set up 1 500 beds in Schiphol airport for trapped passengers
How will controlling airspace be made simpler?
9 functional airspace blocks will replace the existing 27 areas
What did a study of UK residents in 2012 show?
Airlines are most trusted to make decisions after eruptions
