Hazards case studies (Iceland)

Question 1

where and when

Answer 1

iceland south east
2010 march to may

Question 2

why did it erupt

Answer 2

constructive plate margin separating eurasian plate and the north american plate due to iceland lying on a mid atlantic ridge and as plates move apart magma fills chamber

Question 3

what type of volcano and lava

Answer 3

shield volcano with basaltic lava

Question 4

what type of eruption is it

Answer 4

strombolian

Question 5

explosive index?

Answer 5

3

Question 6

what were the primary effects

Answer 6

• ash cloud: caused blockage of sun over europe, the lava also destroyed crops and services the ash cloud also caused lots of flight cancellations affecting 10 million people causing huge economic disruption
• local flooding , melting glaciers
• damage to agriculture, ash caused contamination of water
• properly damage
• health affects damage to peoples respiratory systems due to ash

Question 7

what were the secondary impacts

Answer 7

• economic impact: airline industry’s lost an estimated 1.7 billion due to airspace closure and the prices of airline shares took a massive plummet
• environmental impact, at first the ash destroys farmland however overtime it makes the ground more fertile therefore it has pos and neg
• reduction of imports and exports industries became effected due to rising costs
• it also came with a huge impact on LIC country’s with with high primary industries e.g kenya’s exports stopped due to closure of airspace negatively impacting them as it’s their main source of income
• however volcano tourism did increase
• it also boosted the use of the eurostar and tourism

Question 8

what are the immediate responses

Answer 8

• evacuation 800 people
• airspace closure
• red cross assistance food banks
• charity raise

Question 9

what are the long term responses

Answer 9

• improved monitoring
• improves air traffic regulations
• economic support
• infrastructure improvements
• tourism