Eyjafjallajökull volcano Case study
CONTEXT
80% of Iceland is uninhabited. It has a popula on of 375,935 and a popula on density of 3.74km2.
over 90% of the popula on lives in urban areas. Reykjavik is the largest city and has over 100,000m
people living in it.
Iceland’s GDP is $72902.98 USD. It has a 5.5% unemployment rate. It is classed as a HIC.
There are 38.9 doctors per 1000 people. 99% of people can read (2003) and 100% of people have
accesses to clean water. Educa on is mandatory for children between ages 6-16 (primary educa on)
and educa on a7er this point is available to every student (secondary educa on). 37% of Icelanders
have secondary educa on. The birth rate of Iceland is 11.5 births per 1000 people (2023) and the
death rate is 6.8 deaths per 1000 people. Life expectancy is 83.5 years.
LOCATION and TYPE
Eyja:allajökull is a volcano in Southern Iceland that lies in the country’s
east volcanic zone. Its coordinates are 63.6 N and 19.6 W.
It is a stratovolcano made of basalt and andesite layers. The crater has
three main peaks and is covered by a glacier. Its highest point rises 5466
feet above sea level. Its crater is 3-4kmin diameter. The magma chamber
occurs due to the divergence (separa on) of the Mid-Atlan c Ridge.
Several magma chambers combined to produce significant amounts of
magma below. It was a medium erup on of 3-4 VEI. 230 million cubic
metres of ash and 170 million cubic metres of lava were released during
the erup on. Previous erup ons have been followed by the erup ons of
its larger neighbour Katla.
TIMELINE of ERUPTION
End of 2009 – seismic ac vity began.
3rd March 2010 – earthquake storm recorded over a 48-hr period. Suggested changes to
magma chamber and an erup on were immanent.
20th March 2010 – small erup on began, rated as 1 on the VEI.
14th April 2010 – erup on entered second phase and created an ash cloud that closed most
of European air space. Recorded at 4 on the VEI.
21st May 2010 – the second erup on phase had subsided. No further ash or lava was being
produced.
6th June 2010 – a small new crater opened on the west side of main crater. Explosive ac vity
from this new crater was observed with small emissions of ash.
PREPARDNESS
, The chief of the regional police held mee ngs with scien sts, local police and rescue teams
in response to increased seismicity. Mul ple mee ngs were held with residents living in the
expected hazard zone. Evacua on plans were finalised based on 2005 hazard assessments.
IMPACTS
Primary
March erup on caused the evacua on of 500 local people.
The grass around the volcano was long enough to hold ash which stopped it from blowing
around, reducing the impact.
Strong winds carried ash south, which caused disrup ons to European air. Affected trade and
the cancella on of thousands of flights across Europe and Iceland. Cost billions of euros. A
no flight zone was imposed across most of Europe which caused airline to lose approximately
£130 million per day. The price of shares in major airlines dropped between 2.5-33% during
the erup on.
Rescuers were forced to wear masked to prevent them from choking on the clouds of ash.
Homes and roads were damaged, and services were disrupted, crops were destroyed by ash.
Secondary
Good harvest that year due to nutri on and heat from the ash crea ng ideal
condi ons for plant growth.
Spor ng events were cancelled or affected due to cancelled flights.
Fresh food imports stopped, and industries were affected by lack of imported raw
materials.
Local water supplies were contaminated with fluoride.
Flooding occurred as the glacier melted.
Affects were felt interna onally, even as far as Kenya where farmers laid off 5000
workers a7er flowers and vegetables were le7 roJng at airports. Kenya lost $1.3
million a day due to lost shipments to Europe.
According to Environmental transport associa on the grounding of European flights
prevented approximately 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the
atmosphere.
Eurostar saw a rise in the number of passengers. Rose by nearly a third, with 50000
extra passengers.
Ash from the volcano deposited dissolved iron into the north Atlan c. Triggering
plankton bloom causing a rise in biological produc vity.
RESPONSES
Short term
European red cross socie es mobilised volunteers, staff and resources to help people
affected directly or indirectly by the erup on.
The red cross provided food for the farming popula on living in the vicinity of the
glacier.
700 people were evacuated from the disaster sone three mes during a month.
CONTEXT
80% of Iceland is uninhabited. It has a popula on of 375,935 and a popula on density of 3.74km2.
over 90% of the popula on lives in urban areas. Reykjavik is the largest city and has over 100,000m
people living in it.
Iceland’s GDP is $72902.98 USD. It has a 5.5% unemployment rate. It is classed as a HIC.
There are 38.9 doctors per 1000 people. 99% of people can read (2003) and 100% of people have
accesses to clean water. Educa on is mandatory for children between ages 6-16 (primary educa on)
and educa on a7er this point is available to every student (secondary educa on). 37% of Icelanders
have secondary educa on. The birth rate of Iceland is 11.5 births per 1000 people (2023) and the
death rate is 6.8 deaths per 1000 people. Life expectancy is 83.5 years.
LOCATION and TYPE
Eyja:allajökull is a volcano in Southern Iceland that lies in the country’s
east volcanic zone. Its coordinates are 63.6 N and 19.6 W.
It is a stratovolcano made of basalt and andesite layers. The crater has
three main peaks and is covered by a glacier. Its highest point rises 5466
feet above sea level. Its crater is 3-4kmin diameter. The magma chamber
occurs due to the divergence (separa on) of the Mid-Atlan c Ridge.
Several magma chambers combined to produce significant amounts of
magma below. It was a medium erup on of 3-4 VEI. 230 million cubic
metres of ash and 170 million cubic metres of lava were released during
the erup on. Previous erup ons have been followed by the erup ons of
its larger neighbour Katla.
TIMELINE of ERUPTION
End of 2009 – seismic ac vity began.
3rd March 2010 – earthquake storm recorded over a 48-hr period. Suggested changes to
magma chamber and an erup on were immanent.
20th March 2010 – small erup on began, rated as 1 on the VEI.
14th April 2010 – erup on entered second phase and created an ash cloud that closed most
of European air space. Recorded at 4 on the VEI.
21st May 2010 – the second erup on phase had subsided. No further ash or lava was being
produced.
6th June 2010 – a small new crater opened on the west side of main crater. Explosive ac vity
from this new crater was observed with small emissions of ash.
PREPARDNESS
, The chief of the regional police held mee ngs with scien sts, local police and rescue teams
in response to increased seismicity. Mul ple mee ngs were held with residents living in the
expected hazard zone. Evacua on plans were finalised based on 2005 hazard assessments.
IMPACTS
Primary
March erup on caused the evacua on of 500 local people.
The grass around the volcano was long enough to hold ash which stopped it from blowing
around, reducing the impact.
Strong winds carried ash south, which caused disrup ons to European air. Affected trade and
the cancella on of thousands of flights across Europe and Iceland. Cost billions of euros. A
no flight zone was imposed across most of Europe which caused airline to lose approximately
£130 million per day. The price of shares in major airlines dropped between 2.5-33% during
the erup on.
Rescuers were forced to wear masked to prevent them from choking on the clouds of ash.
Homes and roads were damaged, and services were disrupted, crops were destroyed by ash.
Secondary
Good harvest that year due to nutri on and heat from the ash crea ng ideal
condi ons for plant growth.
Spor ng events were cancelled or affected due to cancelled flights.
Fresh food imports stopped, and industries were affected by lack of imported raw
materials.
Local water supplies were contaminated with fluoride.
Flooding occurred as the glacier melted.
Affects were felt interna onally, even as far as Kenya where farmers laid off 5000
workers a7er flowers and vegetables were le7 roJng at airports. Kenya lost $1.3
million a day due to lost shipments to Europe.
According to Environmental transport associa on the grounding of European flights
prevented approximately 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the
atmosphere.
Eurostar saw a rise in the number of passengers. Rose by nearly a third, with 50000
extra passengers.
Ash from the volcano deposited dissolved iron into the north Atlan c. Triggering
plankton bloom causing a rise in biological produc vity.
RESPONSES
Short term
European red cross socie es mobilised volunteers, staff and resources to help people
affected directly or indirectly by the erup on.
The red cross provided food for the farming popula on living in the vicinity of the
glacier.
700 people were evacuated from the disaster sone three mes during a month.
