Iceland Volcano Flashcards
Where is the volcano located?
On the Mid Atlantic Ridge, on tectonic plates
What type of plate is the volcano located on? How are they moving?
Constructive plate, moving apart
What happens as the plates move apart?
Magma can rise to the surface and form volcanoes and hot spots
What is formed when magma rises to the surface?
Volcanoes and hot spots
What did the latest eruption occur under? What did this cause?
The latest eruption occurred under a glacier, so the pyroclastic flow melted it and caused flash flooding
How fast did the lava cool and why? What did this lead to?
The lava cooled quickly due to the melted glacier cooling it down, this lead to massive gas, steam and glass particle clouds rising very high
How high did the gas, steam and glass particle cloud rise to?
30,000ft
What way is the North American plate moving?
West
What way is the Eurasian plate moving?
East
What 2 plates make up the mid Atlantic ridge? At what type of plate boundary?
The North American and the Eurasian plates at a constructive plate boundary
What process is driving the North American and Eurasian plates apart?
Convection currents
What is the rate that the North American and Eurasian plates are moving apart?
About 2.5cm per year
Why were a chain of volcanoes formed along the rift zone of Iceland?
Because that is where the constructive plates are moving apart
Which direction does the chain of volcanoes along the rift zone run?
From NE to SW
Spell the name of the volcano in Iceland
Eyjafjallajokull
Ey jaf jalla jokull
What has the process of the North American and Eurasian plates moving apart caused?
A chain of volcanoes along the rift zone of Iceland
Which volcano is the most southerly of Iceland’s main volcanoes?
Eyjafjallajokull
Where is eyjafjallajokull located in comparison to Katla?
To the west of Katla
Which volcano is Iceland’s main volcano?
Katla
How tall is eyjafjallajokull?
1666 metres tall
Name 2 features that make up the eyjafjallajokull volcano
- an ice covered stratovolcano
* caldera
What is a stratovolcano?
A volcano built up of alternate layers of ash and lava
How wide is eyjafjallajokull’s caldera?
2.5km wide
What is a caldera?
A large volcanic crater, especially one formed by a major eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano.
Describe how frequently eyjafjallajokull erupts
Very infrequently
Before the 2010 eruption, when was the last time eyjafjallajokull erupted?
1822
What date did the volcano erupt?
20th March 2010
What was the ash plume made up of?
- dissolved gases from the molten rocks
* steam from the melted glacier
How high did the ash plume reach in the air?
11,000m in the air
Why did the ash plume pose such a threat to airplanes?
When heated by the engine heat, it can be turned into a hard glass and lock up the engine
Why did the ash cloud linger for longer than expected?
The weather across North west Europe at the time was very settled, so there were no winds to disperse the ash cloud
What happened on April 14th 2010?
The eruption melted the eyjafjallajokull glacier and set off a major flood
How many people had to evacuate from the major flood?
700
As well as the main cone, where else was lava emitted from?
A 500m long fissure
How hot was the lava emitted from the fissure?
1000*C
How far did the fissure emit lava into the air?
150m into the air
What was the eruption of the fissure categorised as?
A fissure and an explosive eruption
When were there plenty of warning signs of an eruption?
3-5th of March 2010
Name one of the warning signs of the eruption
•there were 3000 recorded earthquakes
How wide is the vent for the volcano?
2.5 km
Why were scientists very concerned at the time of the eruption?
They thought it could be a warning sign of a much larger eruption of the historically more active and dangerous volcano, Katla, located right next to eyjafjallajokull
Why did the ash cloud have a worse impact than an eruption from Katla?
The only areas ever impacted from Katla are the surrounding areas in Iceland. Therefore, the ash cloud that affected many international countries had a larger impact
What does IMO stand for?
Icelandic Meteorological Office
What does the IMO do?
- monitors earth movement
* issued warnings for potential eruptions and floods
What showed the height of the ash plume? Why was this important?
The IMO’s weather radar on the southwest tip of the country showed the height of the ash plume, which was important for calculating the distribution of the ash
How was the ash cloud tracked and prepared for?
It was tracked by satellite by many countries so they knew what was coming
Name 3 ways the EU was prepared for the eruption
- other transport mechanisms, ex. train, channel tunnel etc
- largely self sufficient in foo production, cope without imports couldn’t arrive
- well prepared in legal and insurance terms
Name 2 things that airlines were legally responsible for after the eruption
- legal compensation for their passengers
* the well being of their travellers
What did many companies have so they could cope better in an emergency?
Contingency plans
Give an example of a contingency plan set up for an emergency that was used after the eruption
Tesco circumvented the ash cloud by flying Kenyan produce into Spain and then using road haulage
Which coast is the volcano on?
The south coast
Which direction did the wind blow the ash? Why was this good?
SE towards Europe
It was away from the most inhabited areas of Iceland
What did people in the rural areas down wind of the volcano have to do? Why?
They had to wear goggles and gas masks because the ash was so thick
Name 2 insignificant impacts of the volcanic eruption on the local people
- had to wear goggles and face masks
* visibility was down to a few metres
How many people had to be evacuated from the area around the volcano?
500
What happened to the roads surrounding the volcano?
They were closed
What happened to the local water supply?
It was contaminated with ash
Why were farmers near the volcano warned not to let their livestock drink from contaminated water supplies?
High concentrations of fluoride from the ash mixed with water can have deadly effects, particularly in sheep
What was the major impact of the eruption?
Flights were cancelled internationally between 14th-21st April 2010
Name 6 impacts of the eruption on the locals
- wear goggles and face masks
- visibility down to a few metres
- 500people evacuated
- roads shut down
- contaminated water supply
- don’t let livestock drink from water supply
Why were airplanes grounded due to the eruption?
The particles in the the ash cloud were thought to clog up airplane engines
What was the global knock on effect of international flights being cancelled?
No planes could fly in or out of Europe
How many flights were cancelled per day?
17,000
How much was it thought that airlines were cost per day in cancelled flights?
£130 million a day
How many people were stranded in other countries?
100,000’s
What did hire car companies do after the flights were cancelled? Why?
Dramatically increase their prices because people sought other ways to get home
Who else impacted from people being stranded in other countries?
Businesses and schools etc who needed their workers
How many flights were cancelled in total?
107,000
What % of air travel was cancelled because of the ash cloud?
48%
Name an example of an ledc who were also badly affected by the eruption
Kenya
How much of Kenya’s economy relies on the export of green vegetables to Europe?
20%
Why were Kenya so badly affected by the ash cloud?
They couldn’t transport their produce of green vegetables, which are perishable, meaning they went to waste
How many farmers were temporarily unemployed in Kenya due to the flight ban?
50,000
What did scientists fear would be a consequence of the ash cloud interfering with the atmosphere?
A climatic hazard
How many tons of carbon dioxide were pumped into the atmosphere per day from the eruption? What did scientists think of this?
30,000 tons of CO2
Scientists thought this wouldn’t make a substantial difference
What were the main environmental impacts of the eruption?
- risks to soil and water courses
* risks to livestock through ingestion of fluoride in contaminated water supply and volcanic ash on pasture
What are run in Iceland in advance of eruptions?
Effective monitoring programmes
Name 3 things used to detect ground vibrations
- seismographs
- GPS instruments
- advanced computer modelling
Name 3 other techniques used to predict for an eruption (excluding detecting ground vibrations)
- check composition of gases escaping from the ground
- volume of water in lakes and rivers
- temperature of lakes and rivers
How are people in Iceland prepared for when an eruption does occur?
•infrastructure can cope
How is impact reduced to the local people when an eruption is about to happen?
Automated text message sent out warning people within a 30 mile radius
What has happened in an attempt to reduce the economic impact of future eruptions?
Tess to see if planes can indeed fly in ash clouds or not
