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Volcano in Iceland erupting. History and description of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano

Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption(also "Eyjafjallajok" at dl"; isl. Eyjafjallajökull) in Iceland began on the night of March 20-21, 2010 and took place in several stages. The main consequence of the eruption was the release of a cloud of volcanic ash, which disrupted air traffic in Northern Europe.

First eruption.

Since the end of 2009, seismic activity has increased in Eyjafjallajökull. Until March 2010, about a thousand tremors with a force of 1-2 points occurred at a depth of 7-10 km under the volcano.

At the end of February 2010, GPS measurements carried out by the Icelandic Meteorological Institute in the area of the glacier recorded a movement of the earth's crust of 3 cm in a south-easterly direction. Seismic activity continued to increase and reached a maximum on March 3-5 (three thousand tremors per day).

Temperature map

About 500 people were resettled from the area around the volcano. local residents(since the intense melting of the glacier under which the volcano was located could cause flooding of the area). Keflavik International Airport (Keflavik city) was closed.

On March 19, shaking began east of the northern crater at a depth of 4-7 km. Activity then began to spread eastward and rise toward the surface.

The volcanic eruption began on March 20, 2010 between 22:30 and 23:30 GMT. At this time, a 0.5 km long fault formed in the eastern part of the glacier (at an altitude of about 1000 m above sea level, in the direction from northeast to southwest). During the eruption, no large ash emissions were recorded; the cloud rose to a height of about 1 km.

On March 25, due to water from a melted glacier entering the crater, a steam explosion occurred in the crater, after which the eruption entered a more stable phase.

On March 31, at about 19:00 (Icelandic time), a new crack (0.3 km long) opened, which is located approximately 200 m northeast of the first.

Second eruption.

Second eruption, view from the north, April 2, 2010.

On April 13, around 23:00, seismic activity was recorded under the central part of the volcano, west of two erupting fissures. About an hour later, a new eruption began on the southern edge of the central caldera. The ash column rose 8 km. A new crack about 2 km long (in the direction from north to south) has formed. Water from the active melting of the glacier flowed both north and south, into inhabited areas. About 700 people were evacuated. During the day, the highway was flooded with meltwater, causing destruction. Volcanic ash fallout has been recorded in southern Iceland.

The trace of the April 15 volcanic eruption in a high pressure area over the Norwegian Sea. Aqua satellite image.

On April 15-16, the height of the ash column reached 13 km. When ash reaches a height above 11 km above sea level, it enters the stratosphere with possible transport over significant distances. A significant eastward spread of the ash cloud was facilitated by an anticyclone over the North Atlantic.

Traces of the volcanic eruption on April 15. Aqua satellite image.

On April 17-18, the eruption continued. The height of the ash column was estimated at 8-8.5 km, which means that the erupted material stopped entering the stratosphere.

Impact on air traffic in Europe.

On April 15, 2010, due to the high intensity of the eruption and ash emission, air traffic was suspended in northern Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the northern regions of Great Britain.

Due to the high concentration of volcanic ash in the air on April 15, 2010 (the ash cloud rose to a height of 6 km), all UK airports ceased operations from noon, and Danish airports were closed from 21:00 Moscow time. In total, between 5 and 6 thousand flights were canceled across Europe on April 15, 2010.

At the same time, the airspace of Iceland itself and its airports remained open.

Flights to Europe from America and Asia (USA, China, Japan) were postponed indefinitely.

According to estimates of the International Association air transport airlines' daily losses from flight cancellations amounted to at least 200 million USD.

On April 19, the European Airlines Association called for an “immediate review of restrictions and bans” on flights in EU airspace. According to test flights conducted by some European airlines, the ash does not pose a risk to air traffic. The International Air Transport Association criticized governments European countries for lack of forethought when introducing flight bans. " European governments made a decision without consulting anyone or adequately assessing the risk,– said ICAO head Giovanni Bisignani. – It is based on theoretical calculations, not facts».

According to the director general of the EU Transport Organization, Matthias Root, the flight ban was caused by a computer program of dubious scientific value that simulates the spread of volcanic ash. He called on EU leaders to consider adopting US safety rules. " On the other side of the Atlantic, airlines would be given one piece of advice - don't fly over a volcano. Otherwise, all necessary precautions would be left to the carriers themselves to determine.", said Matthias Root.

The volcanic eruption prevented many heads of state from flying to the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and those killed in a plane crash near Smolensk on April 10, 2010.

Distribution of volcanic ash in Russia.

According to information from the Met Office, Great Britain, as of 18:36 on April 18, 2010, volcanic ash in Russia was recorded in the area of the Kola Peninsula, in the south of the Central Federal District, parts of the Volga, Southern and North Caucasus federal districts, as well as in the north eastern Northwestern Federal District. St. Petersburg was on the border of the expected spread of ash; according to forecasts, the ash was supposed to reach the city on the night of April 18-19. Volcanic ash was not registered on the territory of Moscow, and its spread was not expected in the next 24 hours (April 19).

According to other information, the first particles of volcanic ash reached Moscow on April 16, 2010. On the night of April 16-17, small particles of ash could be collected on a sheet of paper placed on the windowsill. Examination of the particles under a microscope showed the presence of fragments of plagioclase crystals and foamed volcanic glass.

As Marina Petrova, general director of the weather agency Roshydromet, said on April 19, Russian experts do not observe volcanic ash over Russian territory. Director of the Federal Information and Analytical Center of Roshydromet Valery Kosykh said that data on ash over Russia is based on information from the London Volcanic Ash Monitoring Center. “The main problem is that no one in Russia can measure the concentration of this ash,” he noted.

Volcanic ash distribution patterns.

Ash cloud spread by April 17, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Ash cloud spread by April 19, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Ash cloud spread by April 21, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Ash cloud spread by April 22, 2010 18:00 UTC.

Impact on the environment.

During volcanic eruptions, huge volumes of aerosols and suspended particles are released, which are carried by tropospheric and stratospheric winds and absorb part of the solar radiation. The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines threw so much ash 35 km into the air that average solar radiation fell by 2.5 W/m2, corresponding to a global cooling of at least 0.5-0.7° C, but, according to IGRAN Deputy Director for Science Arkady Tishkov, “ what rose into the air in Iceland has not yet even reached a volume of one cubic kilometer. These emissions are not as large as, for example, those noted as a result of recent eruptions in Kamchatka or Mexico" He believes that " this is a completely ordinary event", which may affect the weather, but will not cause climate change.

In Iceland, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has awakened after a 200-year hibernation. The eruption began on March 21, 2010 and was so powerful that the country declared a state of emergency and evacuated hundreds of residents of nearby settlements.
On April 14, a new eruption began, accompanied by the release of a huge amount of ash into the atmosphere. The next day, a dozen European countries were forced to completely or partially close their airspaces - in particular, flights were canceled at the airports of London, Copenhagen and Oslo.

Eyjafjallajokull means "Island of Mountain Glaciers". The volcano is located 200 kilometers east of Reykjavik between the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers. These are the largest ice caps in the south of the northern island country, covering active volcanoes.

The Eyjafjallajökull volcano is a cone-shaped glacier, the sixth largest in Iceland. The height of the volcano is 1666 meters. The diameter of the crater is 3-4 kilometers, the glacial cover is about 100 square kilometers.

Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where volcanic eruptions occur quite often. This country contains almost all types of volcanoes found on Earth. Ice caps and other glaciers cover an area of 11,900 square kilometers.

Since many of Iceland's volcanoes are covered by glaciers, they are often flooded from below. The tongues of glaciers break from their places, releasing millions of tons of water and ice that destroy everything in their path.

It was out of these fears that Iceland took such serious security measures after the Eyjafjallajokull awakening in 2010. In particular, after its March eruption, traffic on nearby roads was stopped and residents were evacuated. Local authorities feared that volcanic lava would melt the glacier and cause severe flooding.

However, after research, experts came to the conclusion that the eruption does not pose a threat to local residents. A few days later, authorities allowed people to return to their homes.

Volcanologists were able to approach the crater at a distance of several meters and film the eruption; they saw that the crack from which the lava comes out is about 500 meters long. In addition, the filming was carried out from the air. Many were published on the popular video portal YouTube.

Icelandic scientists have been monitoring the volcano for a long time, tracking signs of seismic activity. In their opinion, the eruption may last about another year or even two. The last eruption of Eyjafjallajokull was recorded in 1821. Then it lasted until 1823 and caused a threatening melting of the glacier. In addition, due to the high content of fluorine compounds (fluorides) in its emissions, it created a threat to health, namely the bone structure of people and livestock.

If the current eruption continues for this long, the airspace over Europe will have to be closed and opened periodically, depending on the activity of the volcano, warns Professor Bill McGuire, an expert at the center for the study of natural disasters at University College London.

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Eyjafjallajökull is a volcano in Iceland, located under the glacier of the same name, the name of which only 0.005 percent of the world's population can pronounce. In 2010, the small northern country of Iceland decided to remind Europeans of its existence. And she did it in such a way that the message was impossible to ignore.

The excessive activity of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and the powerful release of ash into the atmosphere led to the cancellation of tens of thousands of flights. This eruption can rightfully be considered one of the most remarkable events of the past year.

For two hundred years now, Eyjafjallajökull has been considered fast asleep. Its previous eruption was recorded between 1821 and 1823. – in two years the volcano caused enormous damage to the nearby territory. However, Icelanders are accustomed to such disasters. There are several active volcanoes, which periodically remind of their existence. So the Eyjafjallajökull eruption did not throw the local population into panic; on the contrary, it provoked a real tourism boom. People from all over the world came to admire the impressive spectacle.

In fact, the volcano that attracted so much attention from tourists to Iceland did not even have its own name. Previously, the Eyjafjallajökull glacier was known, located 125 km from Reykjavik and hiding a conical volcano underneath it. For simplicity, they began to call him by the same name. Eyjafjallajökull translated into Russian literally means “glacier of the island mountains.” The height of the peak is 1666 meters, and the diameter of the crater, which was hidden under ice for many years, is 4 km.

Naturally, scientists monitored Eyjafjallajökull, but could not predict the full scale of the upcoming eruption. The volcano located 12 km to the east, Katla, has always attracted much more attention from scientists. In the 20th century it was particularly active. Consequently, it was popular among tourists visiting the island.

All types of travel are available to exotic lovers in Iceland: car, walking, and helicopter excursions by air. Only from above can one fully appreciate the power of volcanoes. In addition to evidence of the Earth's fiery breath, Iceland is famous for its rivers, waterfalls and geysers. Getting to know them is included in the mandatory tourist program. At the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier is the village of Skógar and the most visited waterfall in the country, Skógafoss on the Skógau River. Famous tourist routes pass by it, leading to the Fimmvurduhauls pass between the Eyjafjallajökull and Myrdalsjökull glaciers.

Photo of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.

On April 14, a new eruption began, accompanied by the release of a huge amount of ash into the atmosphere. The next day, a dozen European countries were forced to completely or partially close their airspaces - in particular, flights were canceled at the airports of London, Copenhagen and Oslo.

Eyjafjallajokull(Eyjafjallajokull) means "Island of mountain glaciers". The volcano is located 200 kilometers east of Reykjavik between the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers. These are the largest ice caps in the south of the northern island country, covering active volcanoes.

However, after research, experts came to the conclusion that the eruption does not pose a threat to local residents. A few days later, authorities allowed people to return to their homes.

Here is one such filming - a sight that is bewitchingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

Volcanoes frighten and attract people. They can sleep for centuries. An example is the recent history of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. People cultivate fields on the slopes of the fiery mountains, conquer their peaks, and build houses. But sooner or later the fire-breathing mountain will wake up and bring destruction and troubles.

It is the sixth largest glacier in Iceland, located in the south 125 km east of Reykjavik. Beneath it and partly under the neighboring Myrdalsjökull glacier hides a conical volcano.

The height of the glacier's peak is 1666 meters, its area is about 100 km². The volcanic crater reaches a diameter of 4 km. Just five years ago, its slopes were covered with glaciers. Nearest locality- the village of Skougar, located in the south of the glacier. This is where the Skogau River originates, with the famous Skógafoss waterfall.

Eyjafjallajokull - origin of the name

The name of the volcano comes from three Icelandic words that mean island, glacier and mountain. This is probably why it is so difficult to pronounce and difficult to remember. According to linguists, only a small part of the Earth's inhabitants can pronounce this name correctly - the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The translation from Icelandic literally means “island of mountain glaciers.”

Volcano without a name

As such, the phrase “Eyjafjallajökull volcano” entered the world lexicon in 2010. This is funny, considering that in fact a fire-breathing mountain with that name does not exist in nature. Iceland has many glaciers and volcanoes. There are about thirty of the latter on the island. 125 kilometers from Reykjavik, in the south of Iceland, there is a fairly large glacier. It was he who shared his name with the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

It is under it that there is a volcano, which for many centuries has not come up with a name. He is nameless. In April 2010, he alarmed the whole of Europe, for some time becoming a global newsmaker. In order not to name it, the media suggested naming it after the glacier - Eyjafjallajokull. In order not to confuse our readers, we will call it the same.

Description

Eyjafjallajokull is a typical stratovolcano. In other words, its cone is formed by numerous layers of a solidified mixture of lava, ash, stones, etc.

The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull has been active for 700 thousand years, but since 1823 it has been classified as dormant. This suggests that no eruptions have been recorded since the beginning of the 19th century. The condition of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano did not give scientists any particular cause for concern. They found that it has erupted several times over the past millennium. True, these manifestations of activity could be classified as calm - they did not pose a danger to people. As documents show, recent eruptions were not distinguished by large emissions of volcanic ash, lava and hot gases.

Irish volcano Eyjafjallajökull - the story of one eruption

As already mentioned, after the eruption in 1823 the volcano was considered dormant. At the end of 2009, seismic activity intensified there. Until March 2010, there were about a thousand tremors with a magnitude of 1-2 points. This disturbance occurred at a depth of about 10 km.

In February 2010, employees of the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, using GPS measurements, recorded a shift of the earth's crust by 3 cm to the southeast in the glacier area. Activity continued to increase and reached its maximum by March 3-5. At this time, up to three thousand tremors were recorded per day.

Waiting for the eruption

From the danger zone around the volcano, authorities decided to evacuate 500 local residents, fearing flooding of the area, which could cause intense covering of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. Closed as a precaution international airport Keflavik.

Since March 19, shaking has moved to the east of the northern crater. They were tapped at a depth of 4 - 7 km. Gradually, the activity spread further to the east, and shaking began to occur closer to the surface.

At 23:00 on April 13, Icelandic scientists recorded seismic activity in the central part of the volcano, west of two cracks that had formed. An hour later, a new eruption began in the south of the central caldera. A column of hot ash rose 8 km.

Another crack appeared, more than 2 kilometers long. The glacier began to actively melt, and its waters flowed both north and south, into populated areas. 700 people were urgently evacuated. Within 24 hours, meltwater flooded the highway and the first damage occurred. Volcanic ash fallout has been recorded in southern Iceland.

By April 16, the ash column reached 13 kilometers. This alarmed scientists. When ash rises above 11 kilometers above sea level, it penetrates the stratosphere and can be transported over long distances. The eastward spread of ash was facilitated by a powerful anticyclone over the North Atlantic.

Last eruption

This happened on March 20, 2010. On this day it began last eruption volcano in Iceland. Eyjafjallajökull finally woke up at 23:30 GMT. A fault formed in the east of the glacier, the length of which was about 500 meters.

At this time, no large ash emissions were recorded. On April 14, the eruption intensified. It was then that powerful emissions of gigantic volumes of volcanic ash appeared. In this regard, the airspace over part of Europe was closed until April 20, 2010. Flights were limited sporadically in May 2010. Experts assessed the intensity of the eruption on the VEI scale at 4 points.

Dangerous Ash

It should be noted that there was nothing outstanding in the behavior of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. After seismic activity that lasted several months, a rather calm volcanic eruption began in the glacier area on the night of March 20-21. This was not even mentioned in the press. Everything changed only on the night of April 13-14, when the eruption began to be accompanied by the release of a gigantic volume of volcanic ash, and its column reached enormous heights.

What caused the air transport collapse?

It is worth recalling that since March 20, 2010, an air transport collapse has loomed over the Old World. It was associated with a volcanic cloud that was created by the suddenly awakened Eyjafjallajokull volcano. It is unknown where this mountain, silent since the 19th century, gained strength, but gradually a huge cloud of ash, which began to form on April 14, covered Europe.

After the closure of airspace, more than three hundred airports across Europe were paralyzed. Volcanic ash also caused a lot of concern for Russian specialists. Hundreds of flights have been delayed or completely canceled in our country. Thousands of people, including Russians, expected an improvement in the situation at airports around the world.

And the cloud of volcanic ash seemed to be playing with people, changing its direction of movement every day and completely “not listening” to the opinions of experts who reassured desperate people that the eruption would not last long.

Icelandic weather service geophysicists told RIA Novosti on April 18 that they were unable to predict the duration of the eruption. Humanity prepared for a protracted “battle” with the volcano and began to count considerable losses.

Oddly enough, for Iceland itself, the awakening of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano did not have any serious consequences, except, perhaps, for the evacuation of the population and the temporary closure of one airport.

And for continental Europe, a huge column of volcanic ash became a real disaster, naturally, in the transport aspect. This was due to the fact that volcanic ash has physical properties that are extremely dangerous for aviation. If it hits an airplane turbine, it can stop the engine, which will undoubtedly lead to a terrible catastrophe.

The risk for aviation increases significantly due to large cluster volcanic ash in the air, which significantly reduces visibility. This is especially dangerous during landing. Volcanic ash can cause malfunctions in on-board electronics and radio equipment, on which flight safety largely depends.

Losses

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano brought losses to European travel companies. They claim that their losses exceeded 2.3 billion dollars, and the damage that hit their pockets every day amounted to approximately 400 million dollars

The airlines' losses were officially estimated at $1.7 billion. The awakening of the fire mountain affected 29% of world aviation. Every day, more than a million passengers became hostage to the eruption.

The Russian Aeroflot also suffered. During the period of closure of air routes over Europe, the company did not complete 362 flights on time. Its losses amounted to millions of dollars.

Experts' opinions

Experts say that the volcanic cloud does pose a serious danger to aircraft. When the plane hits it, the crew notes very poor visibility. On-board electronics work with great interruptions.

The formation of glassy “shirts” on the engine rotor blades and clogging of the holes that are used to supply air to the engine and other parts of the aircraft can cause their failure. Airship captains agree with this.

Volcano Katla

After the subsidence of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, many scientists predicted an even more powerful eruption of another Icelandic fire mountain, Katla. It is much larger and more powerful than Eyjafjallajokull.

For the last two millennia, when people watched the eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull, Katla exploded after them at intervals of six months.

These volcanoes are located in the south of Iceland, eighteen kilometers apart. They are connected by a common underground system of magma channels. The Katla crater is located under the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Its area is 700 sq. km, thickness - 500 meters. Scientists are confident that during its eruption, ash will fall into the atmosphere tens of times more than in 2010. But fortunately, despite the dire predictions of scientists, Katla is not yet showing signs of life.

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