RE - Volcanoes (Eyjafjalljokull case study) Flashcards
What is our MEDC case study for volanoes?
Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland 2010
Where does Iceland lie?
On the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a constructive plate margin separating the Eurasian plate from the North American plate.
How are several volcanoes formed at this ridge?
As the plates move apart magma rises to the surface forming volcanoes located in a belt running roughly SW-NE through the centre of Iceland
Where is Eyjafjallajokull located?
Beneath an ice cap in southern Iceland 125km SE of the Capital Reykjavik
What happened on March 2010 and lasted for two months?
Magma broke through the crust beneath Eyjafjallajokull glacier. It was the start of dramatic and powerful lava eruptions that impacted people across the globe.
What happened on 14 April?
A new phase began which was much more explosive. Over a period of several days in mid April, violent eruptions through huge quantities of ash into the atmosphere
What is a immediate response?
How people react during a disaster and straight afterwards
What were the local impacts of the eruption? (Immediate response/ primary effects)
- Some 800 local people evacuated
- Homes and roads were damaged (electricity, water)
- Local flood defences had to be reconstructed
- Crops were damaged by heavy fall of ash
- Local water supplies were contaminated with fluoride
How was flooding a secondary effect of Eyjafjallajokull?
As the eruption occurred beneath a glacier, a huge amount of meltwater was produced that flowed out from under the ice
What was done about the flooding?
Sections of embankment were breached by the authorities to allow the floodwaters to pass through the sea. It prevented expensive bridges being destroyed and enable the embankment to be reconstructed after the eruption .
What were the national impacts?
- Tourisms was affected (number of international tourists dropped in summer 2010 effecting local economy)
- Road transport was disrupted (roads washed away by floods)
- Agricultural production was affected (crops covered in ash)
- Reconstruction of roads was expensive
How did the eruption effect internationally?
A cloud of fine ash spread SE towards the rest of Europe and officials were concerned about the possible harmful effects of ash on aeroplane jet engines shutting large european airspace down.
What were in international impacts?
- Over a period of 8 days, some 100,00 flights were cancelled accounting for 48% of total air traffic (ten million passengers were affected)
- Industrials were affected by lack of imported raw materials
- Fresh food could not be imported, affecting supermarkets and producers across the world
- In sport a number of international events were affected by the flight ban (Japanese Motorcycle grand prix
What was a positive for the eruption?
- It became a new Icelandic tourist attraction with its own tourist centre (“land of ice and fire”)
- Lava and ash made the soils very fertile and good for agricultural use
- The rocks were used for buildings
- Geothermal energy was used to produce things like electricity and provide hot water
- Small quantities of minerals such as copper, gold, silver were often found
What do scientists use to try and predict volcanoes?
- Seismometers are put in the ground to monitor the increase in earthquake activity as it indicates that magma is rising beneath a volcano
- Tilt meters can be placed in the ground to measure slight changes in the tilt of the ground caused by rising magma (laser beams used as well)
- Digital cameras can be placed on the rim of the crater to record small eruptions or landslides
- Gas monitoring stations can be used to see change in concentration of gas prior the eruption
