Iceland Eruption (Global Hazards) :) Flashcards
What were some long term responses to the eruption? (Research, reconstruction, warning)
Further research into the effect of ash on aircraft
Reconstruction of roads, local flood defences were re-established.
Improved warning systems were developed to predict future eruptions, such as seismometers and thermal cameras
What were some short-term responses? (Families, inside, grounded, livestock, tourists)
Local evacuation of 500 farmers and their families.
People told to stay inside due to the amount of ash in the air.
Grounded aircraft all over Europe
Bring livestock inside
No tourists in the area
What were some local consequences of the eruption? (Visibility, evacuated, livestock, flood)
Visibility in the local, rural area, was extremely poor and people had to wear goggles and facemasks.
Over 500 farmers and their families had to be evacuated as the roads surrounding the volcano were shut down.
The ash contaminated local water supplies causing farmers to have to bring their livestock indoors.
Large floods of water (from glaciers) swept down the side of the volcano destroying bridges and roads.
What were the causes of the severity of the eruption?
(Plates, hotspot, glacier)
E16 is on a constructive plate boundary between two oceanic plates; the North-American plate and the Eurasian plate forming the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This weakness in the crust causes volcanoes to be present.
Iceland is also on a hotspot. This means that there is increased volcanic activity.
E16 was covered with a glacier prior to the eruption. The presence of this ice meant that the ash was particularly fine grained leading to wide dispersal. Also much of the ice melted causing large floods (called jökulhlaups).
What were some international consequences of the eruption? (Travel ban, flights stats, money lost,)
During the eruption there was an 8 day travel ban across much of Eastern/Northern Europe.
Around 107,000 flights accounting for 48% of total air traffic and roughly 10 million passengers were affected by the travel ban.
Airlines lost an estimated £1.2b as they could not fly due to the ash in the atmosphere.
