Case Study: EYJAFJALLAJOKULL Volcano 2010

Question 1

What type of plate boundary is Eyjafjallajokull on?

Answer 1

Constructive

Question 2

Where is Eyjafjallajokull?

Answer 2

Southern Iceland

Question 3

Which plates meet on the boundary?

Answer 3

The North American and Eurasian

Question 4

How fast are the plates moving?

Answer 4

2.5-15 cm per year

Question 5

Why does magma rise?

Answer 5

Because there’s lower pressure at the surface

Question 6

What is a jökulhlaup?

Answer 6

A flow of meltwater from a volcano and ice cap

Question 7

How many people died in the eruption?

Answer 7

0

Question 8

How many people were evacuated?

Answer 8

500 farmers and their families

Question 9

What happened to the roads around the volcano before the eruption?

Answer 9

They were shut down to prevent people using them

Question 10

What did ash do to local water supplies?

Answer 10

Contaminated them with high concentrations of fluoride

Question 11

How is ash redistributed?

Answer 11

By winds, pumped high into the atmosphere above Northern and Western Europe

Question 12

Why were there such disruptions to aircraft?

Answer 12

The particles in the ash clog up the plane engines as they attempt to fly through them

Question 13

How much money was lost per day by airlines?

Answer 13

£130 m according to the IATA

Question 14

How many flights were cancelled?

Answer 14

107,000 - 48% of total air traffic affecting 10 m people

Question 15

How did the eruption affect Kenya?

Answer 15

20% of their economy is based on export of green vegetables and flowers to Europe and are transported by air

Question 16

How many Kenyan farmers were temporarily unemployed?

Answer 16

50,000

Question 17

How much CO2 was released into the air every day of the eruption?

Answer 17

30,000 tonnes

Question 18

How did people in rural areas of Iceland have to protect themselves?

Answer 18

They had to wear goggles and face masks to prevent them inhaling ash or it getting into their eyes. Visibility was less than a few metres

Question 19

What was done to the main road in Iceland as a primary response to eruption warnings?

Answer 19

The embankments were removed and the road collapsed to prevent further damage by floodwaters

Question 20

How did the Icelandic Red Cross respond?

Answer 20

By mobilising 35 staff and volunteers, opening 4 shelters allowing 200+ people to take refuge there

Question 21

How did Amsterdam’s Schipol airport respond?

Answer 21

1500 beds were there for stranded travellers

Question 22

What was done to roads after the eruption?

Answer 22

They were reconstructed, including Icelands Route 1 to allow people to move around the country again

Question 23

How were flood defences responded to?

Answer 23

They were reconstructed and strengthened to protect locals from any further flooding

Question 24

What kinds of research were done in response?

Answer 24

Research into the effects of ash on aircraft so that if a similar eruption were to happen then the losses could be minimised

Question 25

What was the response to Iceland’s rivers?

Answer 25

The ash was dug out of the bottom of them to make them deeper and prevent further flooding

Question 26

What did the Icelandic National Society do?

Answer 26

Provided psychological support particularly for children who had been traumatised by the loud explosions from the eruption

Question 27

The USGS provided…

Answer 27

….scientists for the ICAO’s international task force and worked with the UK met office to improve ash forecasting