CONDENSED A* NOTES
Volcanoes
Eyjafjallajökull(E15)
The Eyjafjallajökull volcano occurred in March 2010 following increased seismic
activity in Iceland and the meeting of one body of magma (mostly consisting of
volcanic rock basalt) with another (silica-rich trachyandesite).The magma
broke through the glacier.
During April, the lava eruptions became more violent and formed heavy ash
and spread over Europe, heightening the devastating impacts. The glacier
continued to melt which was very unfortunate considering it demolished and
destroyed section of the highway which was key to transportation. The
eruption was a VEI 4 and occurred on a constructive Plate margin. The E15 is
recognized as a composite volcano.
Local impacts include:
Over 700 people were evacuated, and tourism was greatly impacted as planes
couldn’t fly Communication and infrastructure was disrupted as it costed over
12 million to repair. Years’ worth of crops was damaged which meant that
there was less food for animals, disrupting the ecosystem.
International impacts were the heavy air traffic across Europe which halted for
over a week due to the ash; furthermore, produce could not be transported to
North Europe from African Countries. The eruption took place during school
holidays which left many families stranded and resulted in children missing out
on education. There was a shocking loss of airlines and airports which was a
1.1 billion loss.
Responses included were hourly info updates and meteorological monitoring
and the government rebuilt roads and infrastructure in less than 2 months.
Organizations and charities like the Red Cross offered supplies and destroyed
properties rebuilt. In the long term, tourism increased as more awareness
about the eruption was generated, and it was viewed as a historical site. The
environment grew back more fertile due to the ash which mad it ideal for
farming practices. Iceland is currently beyond stage 5 of the Park Model.
Nevado Del Ruiz