Eyjafjallajokull eruption
Cards (4)
- Background info- Located in Iceland on the North American plate (moving west) and Eurasian plate (moving easy)- Divergent plate boundary- On the Mid-atlantic ridge- Lots of volcanic activity- Early 2010 seismic activity detected in the area. Gave evidence that there is movement in the magma under the crust in the magma chamber- Real threat came from ash clouds as people was vulnerable from a further distance- Little risk as little people lived in the area- April 2010- Eruption was a 4 on the VEI
- Local impact- 20 farms were destroyed by flooding ash clouds- breathing mask were recommended to be worn outside- livestock has to remain indoors- Huge amount of ice melted causing lahars and 1000 people evacuated- 3 mm layer of ash was destroyed across the landscape- Ash contained fluoride which contaminated the waters which harmed humans and animals
- Worldwide impacts- Airline closures affected millions of people and affected the global economy- London lost estimated $102 million tourist income- shares in airline and tourism agencies dropped by 4%- overall 95000 flights got cancelled- Cost airlines $130 million per day that the air spaced closed- Many europeans counties were forced to shut down their air space.- Ash clouds poured into higher atmosphere and blown over to Europe- less fuels needed so 1.87 million barrels not used and caused a loss in money in the oil industry- Britain has fine anticyclone weather so the ash clouds was dispersed across the country
- Responses- High tech equipment used t predict further eruptions- Had warning systems with texts being sent with a 30 min warning- Iceland was very prepared for the eruption due to the forecasted activity detected- emergency services were well prepared.