Eruption of Eyjafjallajokull Flashcards
Where is Eyjafjallajokull?
Is an ice cap, partly covering a gently sloping strato-volcano at 1666m tall in Iceland.
What is its tectonic setting?
A constructive boundary where, as the plates move apart, new material rises from the earth’s mantle below, creating new rock at its spreading edges.
Additionally, Iceland is thought to be located over a hot spot in the upper mantle of the earth.
How vulnerable is Iceland to an eruption from Eyjafjallajokull?
Iceland is a HIC and infrastructure and telecommunications are excellent.
Some smaller settlements, notably villages along the south and north coastlines are remote.
There are few people in Eyjafjallajokull’s area, but the smoke cloud could be dangerous for people further away.
What were some early indicators of the eruption before March 2010?
Earthquakes and a 15-cm uplift of ground around 1992-1994 and 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2009.
What were some characteristics of Eyjafjallajokull?
- Achieved a VEI of 4
- Ash plume was blown 10km
What were some local primary impacts of Eyjafjallajokull’s eruption
- Livestock taken inside and fluoride deposited on grazing land may have causing internal hemorrhages
- Ash and tephra fall rendered crop and grazing land temporarily infertile.
- Overland flow from floods became acidic and dangerous the drink
What were some local secondary impacts of Eyjafjallajokull’s eruption
- Reykjavik airport closed
- Local population evacuated due to respiratory threats, but there was still a 25% increase in respiratory illness
- Fresh fish imports were badly affected and some small ports were destroyed by meltwater
- Crops and food had to be imported for several years
- Short term dip in tourism
What were some regional impacts Eyjafjallajokull’s eruption?
- All flights cancelled from some airports and people were stuck abroad
- Fine ash coulnd’t be easily seen at high altitudies where jets fly. The ash was 58% silica and was very light, it got into engines, then melted, causing them to shut down
- Europe loses $2.6bn GDP and 11.7% drop in air passenger numbers
What is preparedness?
Community education and resilience building including how to act before, during and after.
Prediction, warning and evacuation systems
What is mitigation?
Acting to reduce the scale of the next disaster, including hazard-resistant buildings and infrastructure
What is response?
Immediate help in the form of aid to keep people alive including shelter and first aid with food and water
What is recovery?
Recovery is rebuilding infrastructure and services possibly better than before.
Rehabilitating the physically and mentally injured
What type of eruption was Eyjafjallajokull?
Pheatomagamatic - magma directly introduced into a body of water results in a large difference in heat, forming hot glass as it contracts and shatters into tiny pieces
Sublimation gives the force of the explosion.
What was the quality of the volcanic eruption?
The ash had higher silica content, due to the rising basaltic magma that melted the andesitic magma chamber, left behind from the 19th century.
The chamber had high silica content and made the rising magma viscous.
What is Tephra?
All fragments of rock ejected into the air by an erupting volcano
