PostHeaderIcon Iceland Volcano – Eyjafjöll (April 14, 2010)

Eyjafjallajökull's ash plume in April 2010 from NASA's Earth Observatory

The Eruptions

Eyjafjallajökull has been active in the last few days. Dr. Erik Klemetti of Eruptions blog has a great write up. Go listen to him. Also, Jorge Santos has the best picture of the ash.

Most recently, on 4/14/2010 (or 14-4-2010 if you’re not in the US):

After a few days of quiet in Eyjafjallajökull volcano, a new and much more forceful eruption has begun west of Fimmvörðuháls, under the ice-cap.

The eruption is below the highest peak of Eyjafjallajökull, at the southern rim of the caldera.

A plume rises at least 8 km into the air. No lava is seen yet but melt-water flows both north and south of the mountain.

-Iceland Meteorologic Office

At 2300 on 13 April, a seismic swarm was detected below the central part of Eyjafjöll, W of the previous eruption fissures. About an hour later, the onset of seismic tremor heralded an eruption from a new vent on the S rim of the central caldera, capped by Eyjafjallajökull glacier. The eruption was visually confirmed early in the morning on 14 April; an eruption plume rose at least 8 km above the glacier. Meltwater flowed to the N and S. News outlets reported that a circular ice-free area about 200 m in diameter was seen near the summit. Scientists conducting an overflight saw a new 2-km-long, N-S-trending fissure, and ashfall to the E. About 700 people were ordered to evacuate the area, and certain flights were banned from flying N and E of the eruption area. Flooding increased throughout the day, causing road closures and some structural damage.

-Institute of Earth Sciences

The Volcano

Eyjafjöll is also known as Eyjafjallajökull. It’s a strato volcano – so more of a pointy volcano (like Mount Vesuvius), less of a flat volcano (like Hawai’i). Eruptions from strato volcanoes are often more powerful and spread more ash and less lava. Near Seattle the Cascades have many strato volcanoes: Mount Rainier, Mount Saint Helens, Crater Lake, Shasta, etc.

Good places for more information?

The volcano itself (from the Global Volcanism Program).

The eruption on 4/14/2010 (from the Iceland Meteorological Service)

News from the Iceland Meteorological Service

USGS Worldwide Volcanic Activity Report

NASA’s Earth Observatory Photographs from Space

~ A l i c e !

2 Responses to “Iceland Volcano – Eyjafjöll (April 14, 2010)”

  • brooke says:

    hey im supposed to fill in a chart about it so i need the ,location,how it effected the environment,and how it effected humans thanks and ps. i need it by tomarro

    • Alice says:

      Sorry Brooke. Some of the answers can be found above but for others you’ll have to do more research.

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