Eyjafjallajökull 2010 Eruption

 

    For a couple decades, there has been deep and irregular seismic activity between the volcanoes Eyjafjallajökull and Katla; however, in January of 2010, the activity had progressively become shallower and more localized.  During that time, GPS stations began to notice a lift in the southeast portion of Eyjafjallajökull, the rate of which increased through time between January and March (Keller et al., 2019). The subglacial Icelandic volcano (Rafferty, 2020) began erupting on March 20th, 2010, and was not considered over until October 2010 (Keller et al., 2019). There were two stages in the eruptions; on March 20th, 2010, the effusive eruptions began; then, it became explosive on April 15th, 2010 (Keller et al., 2019). The eruptions that began in March were through a 500m fissure vent on the east of its caldera, and it erupted for three weeks, during which a second vent opened 200m northwest of the first, but the volcanic lift had not yet begun to subside (Keller et al., 2019). Seismic activity increased, and lava flow stopped on April 12th, then 48 hours later, an explosive eruption underneath Eyjafjallajökull’s ice cap occurred, immediately prompting Jökulhlaups (a glacial outburst flood), emergency response plans (Keller et al., 2019). This eruption sent steam, ash, and other gases almost 11km in the atmosphere, where winds carried everything in the ash plume over the North Atlantic Ocean, threatening northern Europe’s airspace (Rafferty, 2020). The explosive eruption caused Jökulhlaups, volcanic lightning, and ash clouds, which had a number of human-environment impacts, including evacuations (at least 800 people), property damage (to infrastructure and farms), toxic water-soluble fluoride from the ash threatened the lives of people and livestock, the largest of which was grounding planes and halting air travel for at least six continuous days, which cost companies billions and stranded many travelers (Keller et al., 2019).

This video shows a 48-hour time lapse of Eyjafjallajökull between May 1^st and 2^nd of 2010. It shows many of the hazards associated with volcanoes, including glacial flooding and the ash clouds, as well as several human environmental impacts, including ash covered fields, the proximity to homes, and footage of a plane wreck.

    Iceland has around 200 volcanos of different types (Britannica, 2020) as it is uniquely located on top of a hotspot in the middle of the mid-Atlantic ridge (Keller et al., 2019). The Eurasian and North American Plate are slowly and surely pulling the island apart as they move away from each other (Keller et al., 2019).  Because Iceland has tenure with natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes, the country and its residences must always be prepared. Although more often than not, the volcanic eruptions on Iceland are effusive and register no more than one on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), they have a full-scale evacuation plan for a major eruption of Katla, Eyjafjallajökull’s eastern neighbor. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 was a four on the VEI (Global Volcanism Program, 2013); however, I was unable to find if they had an emergency response plan for Eyjafjallajökull. Eyjafjallajökull has only erupted a total of three times in the last 1,000 years (1612, 1821, 2010) (Rafferty, 2020), so the lack of an emergency response plan might have been deliberate; however, both eruptions before 2010 either occurred with or was shortly followed by an eruption from Katla (Rafferty, 2020). When Eyjafjallajökull erupted violently, sending a column of ash in the air, it immobilized 313 airports, stranded nearly 10 million travelers, and grounded over 100,000 flights (USGS, 2010). Direct and secondary damage the ash plume caused industries depending on air travel a loss that may have exceeded 5 billion (USGS, 2010). For the 30 years preceding 2010, mitigation involving airlines in airspace containing volcanic ash (with its gases, particles, and aerosols) has been to avoid them. The disruption from Eyjafjallajökull’s ash cloud caused around Europe (and globally) has prompted new strategies to be considered, so this situation isn’t repeated (USGS, 2010).

 

This is a photo of Eyjafjallajökull taken in 1992. The purpose is to show the glacier at the top, the topography and shape of the stratovolcano before it's 2010 eruption. (Global Volcanism Program, 2013 https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=372020)

 

This was chosen as reference to Iceland’s geography and location in the Northern Atlantic ocean as well as the location of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano (Global Volcanism Program, 2013).

This shows the eruption from space. You can see the grey ash cloud, and the relief of the island. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/volcanoes-from-space-nasa_n_1098467

Sources:

Britannica. 2020. Iceland. September 14. (Accessed 10/21/2020 https://www.britannica.com/place/Iceland)

Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Eyjafjallajokull (372020) in Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.9.1 (17 Sep 2020). Venzke, E (ed.). Smithsonian Institution. Accessed October 21, 2020 (https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=372020).

Keller, Edward A., DeVecchio, Duane E. Natural Hazards Earth’s Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. 2019. Routledge Publishing. 5^th Edition

Rafferty, John P.  2020. Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Encyclopædia Britannica. (Accessed 10/21/20 https://www.britannica.com/place/Eyjafjallajokull-volcano)

USGS. 2010. Volcano Watch – New task force charged with evaluation avaiation procedures for volcanic ash. November 4. (Accessed 10/21/20 https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/volcano-watch-new-task-force-charged-evaluating-aviation-procedures-volcanic-ash)