BIG E Iceland (vol) Flashcards
(10 cards)
1
Q
Plate
A
conservative plate margin formed as the Eurasian and North American Plate move apart.
2
Q
What type of volcano
A
Effusive
Divergent
3
Q
Events leading up to the eruption
A
Seismographs detected shallow earthquakes indicating rising magma
4
Q
A
5
Q
Eruptions characteristics
A
Plumes of ash reached 8km high
Max VEI was 4 - meant that ash entered the polar jet stream and spread across Europe
Glassy ash with a 58% silica content
6
Q
Effects on Europe
A
Air travel was stopped
7
Q
Environmental impacts
A
Less air traffic lead to 2.8million tonnes less carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere
Deposited ash created fertile land for farming, increasing crop yields
8
Q
Economic impacts
A
- Europe lost $2.6 billion of GDP to the eruption
- lack of air travel disrupted manufacturing as import and export ceased
- fruit from Caribbean and Africa could not be imported (rotted)
- major airlines lost daily revenue £130 million
9
Q
Social impacts
A
- people lost their jobs
- 313 airports forced to close
- Heathrow 1000 flights cancelled in one day
- fluoride from ash contaminated water
- ash blocked out the sun leaving local area in darkness
10
Q
Immediate responses
A
- 700 ppl from surrounding rural area were evacuated
- livestock taken inside to escape the ash
- local population evacuated to escape respiratory problems
