Volcanic Event: Eyjafjallajokull Flashcards
Where is Iceland
Iceland sits on the mid Atlantic ridge where the North American and Eurasian plates move apart at a rate of 2.5cm a year.
What caused an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull
The constructive boundary led to magma rising to the surface at the volcano, leading to an eruption.
The sub glacial nature of the volcano made the eruption far more violent than would normally be expected from the Icelandic volcano (VEI 4)
When was the eruption
Erupted from 14th to 20th April 2010
How much ash and tephra was emitted
250 million cubic meters of ash and tephra was emitted into the atmosphere
Tell me about airspace being closed
Airspace was closed leading to 95,000 cancelled flights during a 6 day closure period.
What were the economic loses in the airline industry
£1.1 billion in losses from the airline industry alone
How did some residents feel about the airspace being closed
Residents under the flight path for Heathrow airport were very pleased with the ‘peace’ of no flights.
Tell me about currencies changing
Currencies tied to tourist revenue (eg in Kenya and turkey) fell due to lack of visitors
Tell me about flooding as an impact
Flooding due to melt of 150m thick ice cap destroyed part of Iceland’s route 1 road which goes around the coast of the country.
How many farms were destroyed
20 farms were totally destroyed by a combination of flooding or ash.
How much CO2 was released into the atmosphere each day
30,000 tonnes of co2 were released into the atmosphere each day.
How did Kenya’s economy struggle
Kenya’s economy struggled as perishable food and flows could not be sold.
50,000 farmers were temporarily unemployed as 1 million cut flower stalks went unsold in the first two days alone
What did the ash lead to, to do with farmers and livestock
The ash led to fluoride being put into local water supplies meaning farmers couldn’t allow their livestock to drink from it.
Tell me about the responses to do with research
Significant research was triggered into the impact of volcanic ash on aircraft amongst calls from coms airlines that closure of airspace was unnecessary
How many people were evacuated
700 people were evacuated in Iceland (500 of them were farmers). These people were cared for by 60 Red Cross volunteers.
