TECTONICS: Eyjafjallajõkull (global interdependence)

Question 1

what is the date and location of the Eyjafjallajõkull eruption?

Answer 1

20th of March to 23rd of June 2010

located in southern Iceland within the islands of the East Volcanic Zone along The Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Question 2

what are the key facts of the Eyjafjallajõkull eruption?

Answer 2

2 VEI Scale

Divergent plate boundary between Eurasian and North American tectonic plates

Question 3

what was the regional significance of the Eyjafjallajõkull eruption?

Answer 3

economic impacts
- authorities to order 700 people to evacuate

human impacts
- farming affected by thick layer of ash which affected agriculture and livestock

Question 4

what was the global significance of the Eyjafjallajõkull eruption?

Answer 4

economic impacts

human impacts

Question 5

how did the 2010 Eyjafjallajõkull eruption in Iceland show global interdependence?

Answer 5

the disruption of the tephra cloud to international air travel showed how the economic impacts of tectonic mega-disasters can affect many countries

Question 6

what were the impacts of the tephra produced by the Eyjafjallajõkull eruption?

Answer 6

phreatomagmatic explosions (from the contact of water and magma) sent a plume of steam and ash 9km into the atmosphere

in one week the volcano erupted 110 million m3 of ash. The plume was driven south-east, across the North Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe, by the prevailing winds

distribution of the ash was across main flight paths and over airports due to the prevailing westerly winds in the mid-latitude zone, and a stable polar front jet stream during the eruption; this meant 30% of global airline capacity was cut- with European capacity cut by 75%, costing $1.7 billion in revenue