Volcano case study: Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland Flashcards
What is Eyjafjallajokull?
Eyjafjallajokull is a volcano covered in glaciers which is a mixture of ice and snow.
Where is Eyjafjallajokull located?
Eyjafjallajokull is located in the far south of Icelnd.
Name 2 features of the volcano:
- it is 1666m in height
- icecaps cover the caldera
What type of lava was emitted?
basalt
What did the eruption score on the VEI (volcanic explosivity index)?
4
What caused the volcano to erupt?
A fissure opened up 150m in length. It then ran along from the northeast to the southeast direction. This happened due to the North American and Eurasian Plates moving away from each other. The magma then rose through the gap and erupted at temperatures of 1000 degrees Celsius and 150m in the air.
Name 2 long-term effects of the volcano?
- a thick layer of ash from the volcano fell on farm pastures at Raufarell. This made it difficult to farm and therefore impacted the local food production.
- the local river levels rose due to the glaciers from the volcano melting when the eruption took place.
Name a medium-term effect of the volcano?
- the ash from the volcano disrupted air travel meaning that many flights had to be cancelled especially as the location of the volcano is directly under the polar jet stream.
Name a short-term effect of the volcano?
- some local gravel roads were blocked preventing locals from escaping the eruption as well as being able to travel.
Name 4 responses of the volcanic eruption?
- 500 local farmers had to be evacuated and the farmers couldn’t return until the area was made safe.
- some of the roads around the volcano were closed.
- many flights n the airspace of many North-Western European countries were stopped costing around £1.2 billion for airlines.
- a Royal Navy warship collected soldiers from Afghanistan and also stranded holidaymakers.
