Volcanoes: Montserrat Flashcards
1
Q
What happened? (3)
A
- Montserrat is located on the plate boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. It’s a destructive plate boundary.
- Plates are travelling towards each other, and when they meet one plate is submerged. Tension as they collide causes magma to heat up.
- The active volcano ‘Soufriere Hills’, started erupting in 1995. It was followed by two years of earth tremors. It tends to follow a pattern of three years ‘on’ (eruptions), and two years ‘off’ (earth tremors).
2
Q
What happened in ‘Phase 1’? (3)
A
- Steam rising from vent.
- Mud pools increased in temperature.
- Dome of the volcano collapsed, sending 5 million cubic metres of hot rock and gases down the side of the mountain.
3
Q
What happened in ‘Phase 5’? (4)
A
- 2 days of decreasing gas output and an hour of small earthquakes.
- Ash vented for the first 4 days, the dome grew and pyroclastic flows were recorded - some reached places never reached before.
- Five volcanic eruptions, very powerful!
- Ash clouds up to 12,000m in height.
4
Q
What were the LONG TERM SOCIAL impacts? (6)
A
- Between 1995 and 1999, the island’s population decreased from 10,000 to 3,000, rising to just over 6,000 in 2006.
- Arrival of over 1,500 people from other Caribbean islands who have been attracted by employment opportunities, mainly in construction.
- Worsening of respiratory diseases and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Approx. 8 thousand people had to flee the island due to the destruction of homes and livelihoods and the risk to their lives.
- Some people relocated to other Caribbean islands and the USA, but predominantly the UK - most have never returned.
- Psychological effects on the 4,000 people that moved to the UK due to change/confusion of moving from a warm, sunny close-knit community island, to the UK. Many people were largely dispersed.
5
Q
What were the SHORT TERM SOCIAL impacts? (4)
A
- Evacuation of Montserrat’s capital, Plymouth and the creation of an exclusion zone in the southern part of the island.
- Collapsing of the dome followed by pyroclastic flows led to the death of 19 people.
- Government declared state of an emergency and ordered thousands of people to move to the north of the island into temporary shelters.
- There was an initial lack of information about the scale of the threat of the volcano and the panic this induced.
6
Q
What were the LONG TERM ECONOMIC impacts? (3)
A
- Some of the families that moved to the UK have struggled financially. People had worked in agriculture/tourism and their skills were not useful in cities in the UK.
- Fertile land is now agriculturally useless and inaccessible, causing huge economic loss for 300 farmers.
- Now dependant on imports for all food.
7
Q
What were the LONG TERM ENVIRONMENTAL impacts (2)?
A
- Two thirds of the island was damaged by volcanic eruptions.
- Deposited debris created an area of new land off the coast.
8
Q
What were the LONG TERM management responses? (5)
A
- Many residents have turned to growing their own crops such as sweet potatoes, papaya, as the frequent ash falls have increased fertility on some of the soils.
- NOW seisometers have been put in place to detect earthquakes prior to eruptions.
- GPS units used to measure the bulging of the island when magma builds up.
- Gas spectrometers used to detect patterns of release of sulphur dioxide.
- Some reconstruction has taken place, the majority financed by the UK’s Department for International Development, which at one point was providing aid worth £25 million a year. New airport opened in 2005 for tourists from other Caribbean islands.
9
Q
What is the volcano called?
A
Soufriere Hills
10
Q
How many volcanic explosions were there in phase 5?
A
5
11
Q
How high were the ash clouds?
A
12,000m high
12
Q
Between 1995 and 1999, how much did the population decrease?
A
From 10,000 to 3,000 rising to just over 6,000 in 2006.
13
Q
How many people moved TO the island for construction opportunities?
A
1,500
14
Q
How many people fled the island?
A
8,000
15
Q
How many people fled to the UK?
A
4,000
