Case Study - E10 (Iceland)

Question 1

where is Iceland located?

Answer 1

on the mid Atlantic ridge at 66 degrees north.

Question 2

when did e10 erupt?

Answer 2

April 2010

Question 3

what type of volcanic eruption originated from e10?

Answer 3

a fissure (500m length) eruption

Question 4

what type of plate boundary is the volcano located on? what takes place here?

Answer 4

a constructive, or divergent, plate boundary along an area known as the North Atlantic Ridge - the Eurasian plate is moving eastwards away from the North American Plate (moving westward)

Question 5

how and why did the ash from the eruption cause global effects?

Answer 5

the ash plume reached 11,000M into the stratosphere at a height it could be distributed by jet streams.

As the ash was so finely grained, it posed a danger to aircraft engines.

Question 6

what were the social impacts?

Answer 6

500 farmers and their families had to be evacuated and many of the roads were shut down.

Flights could not land in Iceland (and around Europe) but this meant that Icelandic people were stranded abroad and visitors were stranded in Iceland.

8 day travel ban led to 107,000 flights being cancelled. 10 million passengers disrupted.

Question 7

what were the economic impacts in Iceland?

Answer 7

IN ICELAND: Roads were blocked or destroyed, and farms were ruined which hindered people’s economic activity.

Question 8

what were the economic impacts globally?

Answer 8

In particular, European air operators lost millions and there was widespread cancellations and disruption.

• businesses lost trade and the flow of goods was affected and workers were temporarily less mobile.
• other forms of transport became temporarily more expensive.

The impact was also felt in exporting LIC’s. e.g Kenya’s economy is significantly based on exporting perishables to Europe - as these planes couldn’t fly there were no exports! Many farmers were temporarily unemployed and experience hardship.

Question 9

what were the environmental impacts?

Answer 9

areas were flooded (forcing evacuations) which damaged Iceland’s limited agricultural land.

Ash contaminated local water sources and farmers were warned not to let their livestock drink from contaminated streams.

• perishable goods were wasted.

Question 10

what were the political impacts?

Answer 10

the disaster exposed the vulnerabilities in our globalised systems.

Question 11

what was the local response?

Answer 11

Icelandic authorities make extensive preparations for eruptions and had carried out tests on safe ash levels for aviation

rescue workers limited the casualties - there were no deaths, just a few respiratory problems.

normal life continued as normal for the most part in Iceland.

Question 12

what was the national response?

Answer 12

hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes (500 farmers were moved on)

Question 13

what was the international response?

Answer 13

10 million air passengers on 107,000 flights faced severe disruption.

• HOWEVER, almost all were entitled to compensation from the airlines and the EU’s insurance system meant most travelers could have their additional expenses reimbursed.
• Producers and consumers were able to circumvent the obstacle - for example Tesco imported Kenyan produce by flying it to Spain and then transferring it by road in refrigerated vehicles.

Question 14

what was the mitigation going forward?

Answer 14

• Iceland has developed its warning systems further - text messages are sent to residents at times of emergency.
• Iceland has an extensive monitoring system and tracks seismic activity
• companies are now more aware of the implications and have given more consideration to planning for events like this. The neighboring Katla volcano is much more violent and could erupt soon producing even worse consequences.