iceland’s volcano hekla about to erupt march 17, 2014 walter hays, global alliance for disaster...
TRANSCRIPT
ICELAND’S VOLCANO HEKLA ABOUT TO ERUPT
MARCH 17, 2014
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
ICELAND
A LAND OF FIRE (VOLCANOES) AND ICE
Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile divergent
boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates that
is marked by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
LOCATION MAP
ICELAND AND PLATE TECTONICS
GRIMSVOTN: ICELAND’S MOST ACTIVE VOLCANO
The Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Southern Iceland
VOLCANO HEKLA
HEKLA’S LAST ERUPTION: FEBRUARY 26, 2000
OTHER PAST NOTABLE ERUPTIONS
ICELAND’S GRIMSVOTN ERUPTS
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2011
GRIMSVOTN
• Iceland's most active volcano, Grimsvotn, located at the heart of its biggest glacier Vatnajoekull, started to spew smoke and lava late on Saturday.
THE ASH PLUME FROM GRIMS-VOTN REACHED 20 KM (12 MI)
AIR TRAVEL AFFECTED
• The ash plume, which was more than twice the height of last year’ eruption of EYJAFJOELL, led to the establishment of “no fly zone” of 220 km (120 mi) in all directions around the summit, leaving planes grounded and closing airspace across Iceland.
EYJAFJOELL’S ASH PLUME ONLY REACHED 9 KM (5.6 MI)
BUT, EYJAFJOELL’S IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON AIR TRAVEL WAS WORSE
• In 2010, EYJAFJOELL’s vertical ash plume, which, unlike Grimsvotn’s, was comprised of very fine silica ash, shut down large portions of European airspace for almost a month, and forced 600 people to evacuate from their homes.
Eyjafjallajökull: UNDER A GLACIER; MARCH 27, 2010
EYJAFJALLAJOEKULL: VOLCANO UNDER A GLACIER
HEAVY FLOODING: APRIL 14, 2010
HEAVY FLOODING LOCALLY:
APRIL 14, 2010
HEAVY FLOODING WASHES OUT ROAD: APRIL 14, 2010
(DARK) ASH CLOUD OVER ICELAND: APRIL 15, 2010
ASH CLOUD FROM APRIL 14 ERIPTION
A dark and spectacular volcanic cloud spread over Britain and toward continental Europe on
Thursday, April 15, forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights as it drifted at high altitude south and
east from the continuing eruption in Iceland.
The ash cloud, made up of minute particles of silicate that can
severely damage jet engines, left airplanes stranded on the tarmac at
some of the world’s busiest airports.
MAP OF AIRPORTS CANCELLING FLIGHTS: APRIL 15, 2010
THE ERUPTION CONTINUES: ICELAND; APRIL 17, 2010
STEAM AND ASH CLOUD: APRIL 18, 2010
“DIRTY THUNDERSTORM” APRIL 17, 2010
APRIL 19: Eyjafjallajökull was still erupting.