Eyjafjalla

j ö k u lVOLCANIC
ICELANDIC l WOE
Diwanand | Ei Ei | Fang Yi | Natasha | Rifqi | Shahira
http://bernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/volcano-erupt-iceland-2.jpg
 AGENDA
• The disaster
• Science behind the eruption
• Effects of the disaster
– Economic
– Environmental
– Explanation behind why planes could
not fly
– Miscellaneous
• Mitigation and Solution
• Conclusion
 The
Disaster
Eyjafjallajökull, pronounced
“aye-ya-fyah-dla-jow-kudl”
means “island glacier mountain”

Volcano erupted twice in 2010

 20th March & 14th April

Caused drastic
interference to air
travel across Europe

Second eruption caused

massive ash plume that
made it impossible for
planes to fly

http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/646x430/g_j/IcelandVolcano_CNT_24mar1
0_rex_b.jpg
 WHAT IS A VOLCANO?

An opening, or rupture in the planet’s surface or crust,

which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape
from below the surface.
There are around 1510 volcanoes in the world.
TYPE OF VOLCANOES

http://www.solcomhouse.com/volcano.htm
STRATOVOLCANO

http://volcano.si.edu/images/full/075045.jpg

Stratovolcano , also known as

composite cones
§Mostly deadly “pack the punch”
§Lower slopes are gentle
§Slopes are steeper near the summit
§Concave and upward direction
§Examples:
oMt. Fuji in Japan
ABOUT

oMt. Mayon in the Philippines

oMt. Gua in Guatemala
EYJAFJALLAJÖKU LL

http://volcano.si.edu/images/full/075045.jpg
ABOUT

Country: Iceland
Sub-region Name: Southern Iceland
Volcano Number: 1702-02=
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption: October 2010
Summit Elevation: 1666 m 5,466 feet
Latitude: 63.63°N 63°38'0"N
Longitude: 19.62°W 19°37'0"W
 TIMELINE OF EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL
ERUPTION

Scientists stated that
eruption is officially
eismic activity Second phase Emission of over although it has
started of eruption sulphurous gases the tendency of
End of 2009 14 April 24 May 2010 erupting again
2010 October 2010

Small eruption Second New crater with

20 March phrase of explosive activity and
2010 eruption the emission of small
subsided quantities of ash
21 May 6 June 2010
2010

* Ármann Höskuldsson , a scientist at the University of Iceland Institute

WHAT CAUSES AN ERUPTION?

 3 main reasons :
§ Pressure of gases within the magma
§ Buoyancy of magma
§ Introduction of new magma into the
magma chamber
WHAT CAUSE AN ERUPTION?

 Pressure and buoyancy of magma

§ Magma contains dissolved gases in a
balance
§ When the balance shifts , the density
changes
§ Expansion causes eruption
WHAT CAUSE AN ERUPTION?

§ Introduction of new magma into the

magma chamber
§ Plate tectonics
 TYPES OF ERUPTIONS
HAWAIIAN

Island volcanoes
lava
xplosive, but fountains of lava can be shot up to 1,000 feet or more by j
forms flat lava domes, creating some of the largest mountains on earth

STROMBOLIAN
te explosions accompanied by scoria (porous, sponge-like lava) and a white vapo
so often, gases escape with small explosions, throwing lava clumps and crust
 TYPES OF ERUPTIONS
PLINIAN / VULCANIAN

s lava is thicker and pastier than the Strombolian type.

a solid crust over the crater between infrequent eruptions.
ted gases then blow out these obstructions with strong explosions.
ragments, fresh lava, and scoria are hurled out of the crater.
uptions come with a large “cauliflower-shaped” ash cloud.
a turns into pumice and ash.
e initial explosions, lava flows from the crater and fissures on sides of
 TYPES OF ERUPTIONS
PELÉAN

xplosions
“glowing cloud,” a highly heated gas charged with glowing ash particles t
at explosions blast out horizontally beneath the plug

ICELANDIC

large amounts of lava from fissures, often miles in length and spread in
and can flow for long distances
 TYPES OF ERUPTIONS
SOLFATARIC STAGE
phase of eruption, during which only gases are emitted
o can stay in the Solfataric stage for hundreds of years after its last

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/volcanoes/typesoferuptions.s
 WHAT DETERMINES ERUPTION
TYPE

viscousThe
, so crystal
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and agas
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mreviscous
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http://geology.com/volcanoes/types-of-volcanic-eruptio
 MAIN SCIENCES INVOLVED

BEFORE DURING AFTER

BASIC BASIC BASIC
QUANTITY ( S ): QUANTITY ( S ): QUANTITY ( S ):
Mass Mass Mass
 Temperature Temperature
Charge
 
FORCE : FORCE : FORCE :
Gravitational Gravitational Gravitational
(Pull) (Push) (Pull)
EMF
HOW A VOLCANO ERUPTS
1. Pressure on a magma
chamber forces magma up
through the conduit and out
the volcano's vents. 
2. When the magma chamber has been
completely filled, the type
of eruption partly depends
on the amount
of gases and silica in the
magma. 
 The amount of silica
determines how sticky  (level
of viscosity) the magma is
and water provides the
explosive potential of steam.
http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/volcanoes/erupts.ph
HOW A VOLCANO ERUPTS
HOW A VOLCANO ERUPTS
 http://www.yalibnan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/volcano-
eruption-iceland.bmp

EFFECTS OF
ERUPTION
 ECONOMIC
Evacuation of
farming families
Road closures
Air travel
disruption
–Poor visibility
& navigation
–Engine damage

ECONOMIC

• Closed airports
• 63,000 canceled
flights within 5
days from
eruption started
• Grounded air
ambulances
• British Airways , Air
France-KLM, etc
lost millions of
dollars
• Delay in everything
e.g. travelers,
machinery parts,
 ECONOMIC

• US Airlines canceled many flights to and

from Europe
• Kenya’s hothouse flowers (20% of exports of
African nations) rotting in warehouses
 ENVIRONMENTAL
• Several earthquakes
• Volcanic gases
–
 ENVIRONMENTAL
• Reports of a strong stench from as
far away as Shetland Isles
• Spewing of a mixture of silica
affected:
– Plants
– Animals
– Water sources
–


Photomicrograph of fragments of glassy

 AIR TRAVEL
Planes were forbidden from flying over


certain parts of Europe because of;

• Difficult landing conditions
• Loss of local visibility
• Deposition of ash on hangars and
parked aircraft
• Contamination of ground-support
systems
• Interference of aircraft’s
communication system

 ENVIRONMENTAL

Typical glassy fragment from dust recovered from an air fall deposit on a car
in Loughborough on 20 April 2010.
 MISCELLANEOUS
• Unwanted stress suffered by business
passengers
• Absence of foreign dignitaries at the
funeral of the late Polish president
Lech Kaczynski
• Garnered more interest in volcanoes
as a tourist spot
• Helped scientists understand much
more about the processes of
atmospheric circulation that help
determine Earth's weather
 http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/image
s/0418-pinatubo-eruption-iceland.jpg/7746002-1-eng-US/0418-
Pinatubo-eruption-Iceland.jpg_full_600.jpg

MITIGATION & SOLUTIONS

VOLCANIC ASH DETECTION
SYSTEM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10234553
AIRBORNE VOLCANIC OBJECT
IDENTIFIER & DETECTOR
( AVOID )
 Volcanic Ash Advisory
Centers
In 1995, 9 regional VAAC were


established around the world

• to advise Meteorological Watch
Offices on the issuance of volcanic
ash warnings to aircraft
• specifically tasked with the
detection, tracking, and forecasting
 Pilot Reports
• Identifying the airspace
• Informing other pilots and
dispatchers of ash-contaminated
airspace
• Help scientists improve their
forecasts of eruption cloud movement
CONCLUSION
THANK YOU
QUESTION & ANSWER
• http://www.teachersparadise.com/c/volcanic-eruptions-physical-science
• http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/What-We-Know-From-the-Iceland
• http://www.suite101.com/content/volcanic-eruptions-in-iceland-continue-to-wreak
• http://thedaringlibrarian.wikispaces.com/file/view/2CB154E4-CE45-9190-C40D54E

• http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2010/04/volcanic_lightning_eyjafjallaj.ph
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section
• http://www.suite101.com/content/eyjafjallajokulls-eruption-may-boost-icelands-to
• http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/volcanoes_alive/Lessons/VA%20Unit%2010/10_2Tides_
• http://www.clearview-continuity.com/pdf/media/Media-May2010.pdf
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10234553
• http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19001-budget-airline-to-test-inflight-ash-de
• http://www-research.cege.ucl.ac.uk/Posters/2010PosterFair/110-Sword-Daniels_Vi
• http://www.islandvulnerability.org/iceland.html
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100527-science-environment-
ty.com/pdf/media/Media-May2010.pdf
•
 About Iceland
• Iceland is noted for subglacial and
regional fissure eruptions,
having produced 83% and 59%
(respectively) of the world's total
for each type. Fissure eruptions
dominate because Iceland
combines a hotspot setting with
one of the few places where the
oceanic rift system emerges
above sea level. This setting has
brought widespread attention to
the region's volcanoes from many
Plate tectonics
 What are plate tectonics?

• It explains the movement of the Earth’s plates

•
• 2 types of plates: continental and oceanic plates


• It explains the cause of earthquakes, volcanoes,

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml
 Details of the plates
• Plates are moving at a speed around 1 to 10cm per year
•

• Most of the Earth’s seismic activities (volcanoes and

earthquakes) occurs at the plate boundaries as they
interact
•

• Plates are produced at ocean ridges, consumed at

subduction zones and slide past each other along
transform faults
– Based on plate theory and first-motion studies
–
• 7 major plates: Eurasian, Antarctic, North American,
South American, Pacific, African and Australian
•

• Plate size
o Intermediate size
• 106 to 107 km2
• Eg. Philippine, Arabian, Nasca, Cocos, Caribbean and
Scotia plates
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml
 Details of the plates
• At collisional zones
– Plates carrying continents may become sutured
together
–
• Plates boundaries are changing from one type to
another


• New plate boundaries can be created in response to

changes in stress regimes in the lithosphere


• 2 plates becoming one plate

– Eg. The continent - continent collision


• Earthquakes
http://books.google.com/books?id=QfhGuFwi0DgC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=identification+%22plate+boundaries%22&q=&hl=en#v=onepage&q&
 Earth’s layer
Type of Crust Average Average Age Major
Thickness Component

Continental 20-80 3 billion years Granite

Crust kilometers

Oceanic Crust 10 kilometers Generally 70 to Basalt

100 million
years old

• The top layer of the Earth's surface is called the crust (it lies on
top of the plates)

•
• Oceanic crust (the thin crust under the oceans) is thinner and
denser than continental crust

•
• Crust is constantly being created and destroyed; oceanic crust is
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml
 Earth’s layer
Type of Crust Average Average Age Major
Thickness Component

Continental 20-80 3 billion years Granite

Crust kilometers

Oceanic Crust 10 kilometers Generally 70 to Basalt

100 million
years old

• Under the crust is the rocky mantle, which is composed of silicon,

oxygen, magnesium, iron, aluminium, and calcium

•
• The upper mantle is rigid and is part of the lithosphere (together
with the crust). The lower mantle flows slowly, at a rate of a
few centimetres per year

•
• The asthenosphere is a part of the upper mantle that exhibits
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml
How plates move?
 How plates move?

• Powered by forces originating in Earth’s

radioactive, solid iron inner core, these
tectonic plates move ponderously about
at varying speeds and in different
directions atop a layer of much hotter,
softer, more malleable rock called the
athenosphere
h ttp :// w w w . p la te te cto n ics. co m / b o o k / p a g e _4 . a sp
 How plates move?

• High temperatures and immense pressures found here, the

uppermost part of the athenosphere is deformed and
flows almost plastically just beneath the Earth’s surface

•
• This characteristic of the athenosphere to flow allows the
plates to inch along on their endless journeys around the
surface of the earth, moving no faster than human
fingernails grow
h ttp :// w w w . p la te te cto n ics. co m / b o o k / p a g e _4 . a sp
 How plates move?

• One idea that might explain the ability of the athenosphere

to flow is the idea of convection currents
•

• When mantle rocks near the radioactive core are heated,

they become less dense than the cooler, upper mantle
rocks
•
http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_4.asp
 How plates move?

• These warmer rocks rise while the cooler rocks sink, creating slow,
vertical currents within the mantle (these convection currents
move mantle rocks only a few centimeters a year)
•

• This movement of warmer and cooler mantle rocks, in turn,

creates pockets of circulation within the mantle called
convection cells
•

• The circulation of these convection cells could very well be the

driving force behind the movement of tectonic plates over the
http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_4.asp
Types of plate movement
 Types of plate movement
• At the boundaries of the plates,
various deformations occur as the
plates interact; they separate from
one another (seafloor spreading),
collide (forming mountain ranges),
slip past one another (subduction
zones, in which plates undergo
destruction and remelting), and slip
laterally.
– Divergent
– Convergent, and
– Lateral
http://www.enchantedlearning Slipping
.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml
 Convergent Plate Movement

• When 2 plates collides at the convergent plate

boundary
– Some crust is destroyed and plates becomes smaller
– Oceanic Plate & Continental Plate
• Dense oceanic plate collides with thick continental
plate
• The oceanic plate is forced under the continental plate
• This phenomenon is called subduction
– 2 Oceanic Plates
• 2 oceanic plates collide
• One plate may be pushes under the other plate
• Magma from the mantle rises, forming volcanoes in
the vicinity
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml
 2 types of continental
margins
• Margins are characterized by minimal
tectonic and igneous activity
– Active
• Found near either a subduction zone
or a transform fault coincide with
continent-ocean interface
– Eg. Andean and Japan continental
margin arc systems
– Passive
• Occurs along the edges of opening
ocean basins
– Eg. Atlantic basin
Subduction of plates
 Subduction zones

Image: Keith-Wiess Geological Laboratories; Rice

University

• Occurs when 2 oceanic plates collide

– The younger plate (less dense) will ride
over the edge of the older plate
(denser)
• Oceanic plates grow more dense as they
cool and move further away from the
Mid-Ocean
http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_12.asp Ridge
 Subduction zones

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/about/edu/dynamicplanet/nutshell.php

• The older, heavier plate bends and plunges steeply through the athenosphere,
and descending into the earth

•
• It forms a trench that can be as much as 70 miles wide, more than a thousand
miles long, and several miles deep

•
• The Marianas Trench, where the enormous Pacific Plate is descending under the
leading edge of the Eurasian Plate, is the deepest sea floor in the world
http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_12.asp
 Trench flipping

• If the descending oceanic plate is carrying a continent, the less

dense continental material cannot sink, so it dives into the
trench behind the leading oceanic crust until it gets stuck

•
• This crumples its leading edge into folded mountains and causes
some of the oceanic crust of the overlying plate to be deposited
on top of the continent. Pressure steadily builds up until the
trench “flips,” and the previously overriding oceanic plate dives
under the continental crust

•
http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_12.asp
 Trench flipping

• If a trench has flipped because of the arrival of a continent, and the newly
subducted plate also carries a continent, a collision of land masses is
unavoidable
•
• When this happens, subduction terminates along the collision zone, the
trench disappears, and the continents collide, resulting in the birth of a
new mountain range
•
• Sometimes an entire plate can disappear if the plates’ leading edge is
being consumed in a subduction trench faster than new crust is being
added at the ridge on its trailing edge
•
When this.com
• .platetectonics
http://www happens, the
/book/page_12.asp ridge slowly moves toward the trench and the
Composition of the
volcanic ash
 What is the ash cloud made
of?
• Tiny bits of rock, so small and light
that they are easily carried through
the air
•
• For Eyjafjallajökull, the eruption
melted much of the glacier, and the
cold caused the lava to cool very
quickly and form minuscule
particles of glass which got carried
into the ash plume
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-04/19/6-qs-and-as-about-the-icelandic-volcanic-ash-cloud
Why was it so explosive?
 Why was it so explosive?
1.More than one main magma
chamber active
2.
3.Interaction between magma and
meltwater caused the ejection of
a plume of ash about 8km high
4.
5.When an eruption occurs next to or
under ice, substantial meltwater is
formed as ice and magma come
together
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/11/17/icelands-big-volcanic-eruption-was-triggered-by-weird-magma-plumbing/
 Why was it so explosive?
1.“There was not one main magma chamber
active under the volcano capturing
magma in 18 years of unrest preceding
the eruption, as is often envisioned in
models for the most active volcanoes on
Earth. Rather, two or more discrete
magmatic sources were involved, with
magma of different composition.” The
cause of Eyjafjallajökull’s explosive
eruption seemed to be the meeting of
one body of magma, made up mostly of
the common volcanic rock basalt, with
another type of magma within the
volcano, consisting largely of silica-rich
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/11/17/icelands-big-volcanic-eruption-was-triggered-by-weird-magma-plumbing/
 Why was it so explosive?
2. The Eyjafjallajökull - icecapped Eyjafjalla - volcano is
erupting.  The initial eruption was between
Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull in the area between
the two volcanoes called Fimmvörðuháls.  The initial
eruptive phase of March 20 to April 12 caused lava to
flow from eruptive vents on the bare volcano flanks.
The initial phase lava was alkali-olivine basalt, with
substantial silica content.

On April 14 a new eruption commenced under the

volcano’s ice covered summit caldera.  Interaction
between magma and meltwater caused the ejection of
a plume of ash about 8km high.

Volcanic ash is a highly abrasive silica particulate which

can abrade cockpit windows and flame-out jet engines. 
It is a very serious aviation safety hazard.
  
– When an eruption occurs next to or under ice, substantial
meltwater is formed as ice and magma come together.  The
http://www.science20.com/chatter_box/eyjafjallaj
resulting %C3%is
material B6kull_g%C3%ADgj
ejected as % aC3plume
%B6kull_j
of%C3%B6kulhlaup_gosm
volcanic ash.  %C3%B6kkur
 Why was it so explosive?
3.Most active volcanoes have a single
chamber that fills with magma, then
pops. Instead, Eyjafjallajökull has a
series of shallow horizontal chambers
that lie parallel to each other, says
Freysteinn Sigmundsson of the
University of Iceland in Reykjavik. As
magma rises, it forms new horizontal
sheets. Some began to form over 18
years ago, and in March the magma
started to trickle out of an opening
on the flank of Eyjafjallajökull (
see graphic; Nature,
DOI: 10.1038/nature09558).
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827875.700-magma-mixer-and-odd-plumbing-made-iceland-volcano-pop.html
Magma VS Lava
 Magma VS lava
Category Magma Lava
Practical Exists underground
 Magma that erupts through a volcano


ra n g e s in te m p e ra tu re fro m
or vent in the Earth it immediately
M o st la va flo w s a re b a sa l
Physical
becomes lava t
a n yw h e re b e tw e e n 7 0 0 C ( 1 3 0 0 F ) m a g m a , w h ich h a s a
Composition Forms rocks Cool much more quickly than magma
a n d Takes
1 3 0 0aClong
( 2 3amount
7 0 F ) of time for the liquid te m pHeate racan
tu re u p o n into
dissipate e ruthe
p tiopen
o n oair
f
Etymological  From Greek root “massein” which means
C o nto
tacool
in s and
d isso lve d g a se s
solidify
Italian word, “lava” means a torrent
a b o uLittle
t 1 2time
0 0 Cfor( 2crystals
2 0 0 F )to form
“to
T h knead”
 ick m oor
Rocks lte“to
has mold”
nhigh
ro ck
concentration of or
D isteam
sso lve dcrystalline
Lower g a se s fi zzle othan
density ut
M o re liq u id
crystalline substances rocks formed by magma
 Through erosion or geological disturbance,
they are igneous rocks
 High crystalline concentration is the reason
that many igneous rocks sparkle distinctively

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/190279_the-difference-between-magma-and-lava
 What’s inside
Eyjafjallajokull?
 What’s inside?
• Eyjafjallajokull lie in an area of extended or stretched crust
in southern Iceland that promotes eruptions in an already
volcanically active area
•
• Magma originating from the earth's mantle gets stored in
chambers that lie about four kilometers below the
surface


• Icelandic volcanoes have fissures or cracks in them because

their location is associated with the pulling apart of two
tectonic [crustal] plates
•
• Volcanoes are openings in the Earth's crust through which
lava, ash, and gases are expelled
•
h ttp :// e d u ca tio n . th e a g e . co m . a u / cm sp a g e . p h p ?in tid = 1 4 2 &in tve rsio n = 5 4 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5019/is_6_22/ai_n56979751/
 What’s inside?
• The lava starts out as magma under the crust


• It slowly rises through the volcano's main vent Magma

travels up this vertical tube to reach the surface


• The sulfate aerosols also promote complex chemical

reactions on their surfaces that alter chlorine and
nitrogen chemical species in the stratosphere
– This effect, together with increased stratospheric chlorine
levels from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) pollution,
generates chlorine monoxide (ClO), which destroys
ozone (O3)


http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/gas/s02aerosols.php http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5019/is_6_22/ai_n56979751/
 Effects of
Eyjafjallajokull eruption
 Effects of Iceland volcano
eruption
1.Air travel
2.Increase in sulfur content
3.Environmental
 Effects on air travel
1.Causing damage to aircraft
2.Reducing visibility
3.Clogging engines of air craft
 Effects on air travel -
Overall

• Glass particles, which can melt in the enormous heat of the plane's
engines and damage and/or jam the machinery
•
• Ash particles are angular fragments having the hardness of a pocket-
knife blade and, upon impact with aircraft traveling at speeds of
several hundred knots, cause abrasion damage to forward-
facing surfaces, including windscreens, fuselage surfaces, and
compressor fan blades
•
• The melting temperature of the glassy silicate rock material that
comprises an ash cloud is lower than the operating temperatures of
modern jet engines; consequently, ingested ash particles can melt
and then accumulate as re-solidified deposits in the engine
•

• Clog up aeroplanes
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/trans/index.html sensors and coat the plane, thus adding to its
 Effects on increase in sulfur
content

• Air pollution
– Release large amount of SO2 (sulfur dioxide)
– SO2 reacts chemically with sunlight, oxygen, dust particles and
water to form volcanic smog known as vog
–

• Global cooling
– Warming the stratosphere and cooling the troposphere
–

• Ozone depletion
– Liquid drops of sulfuric acid promotes the destruction of the earth’s
h ttp :// vo lca n o e s. u sg s. g o vozone
/ h a za rd s/layer
g a s/ in d ex . p h p
 Effects - Environmental
• Reports of a strong stench from as
far away as Shetland Isles
• Spewing of a mixture of silica
(pulverized rock and glass) and its
 effects on:
– Plants
– Water
– Livestock


P h o to m icro g ra p h o f fra g m e n ts o f g la ssy

vo lca n ic a sh
 Chemical Effects on Plants
• Eruption sent thousands of cubic
meters of ashes onto the sky, and
thus covering sunlight from
reaching the surface of the earth.
Plants couldn't undergo
photosynthesis.
– A reduction in solar radiation is the
most evident which would lead to
lower photosynthetic potential
 Chemical Effects on
Livestock
• Volcanic eruptions produce fluorine
aerosols, which become attached to
ash particles
– If animals feed on grasses covered with
fluorine-filled ash, they can contract
fluorosis, a fatal bone disease
– The fluoride in the ash creates acid in
the animals' stomachs, corroding the
intestines and causing hemorrhages.
– It also binds with calcium in the blood
stream, and after heavy exposure over
a period of days makes bones frail,
even causing teeth to crumble
 Why Planes Could Not Fly
(Physical Explanation)
Planes were forbidden from flying over certain


parts of Europe because of;

• Difficult landing conditions due to reduced
runway friction coefficient, especially
when the ash is wet
• Loss of local visibility when ash on the
ground is disturbed by engine exhausts
during take off and landing
• Deposition of ash on hangars and parked
aircraft, with structural loading
considerably worsened if weight is added
by precipitation absorbed by ash
• Contaminated ground-support systems
 Why Planes could not fly
(Chemical and Physical
Explanation)
• All volcanic ash plumes can clog up
aeroplanes sensors and coat the
plane, thus adding to its weight
and altering its delicate balance.
• This plume is particularly dangerous
because of its glass particles, which
can melt in the enormous heat of
the plane's engines and damage
and/or jam the machinery. Jet
aeroplanes flying through ash clouds
have been known to have all four
engines cut out, and propeller aircraft
 Why Planes could not fly
(Chemical and Physical
Explanation)
• Because the ash is electrically conductive, it
can cause thunder and lightning, or cause St
Elmo's Fire - an effect where metal parts of
the aeroplane start to glow. The airspeed
indicator - which is essential for safe flight -
can be adversely affected making control of
the aeroplane very difficult. Dust is also likely
to enter the aeroplane causing sulphurous
smells and haze.'
• As they touch the aeroplane, and particularly
the engines, the hard rock particles can wear
away the aircraft skin, windscreens, and
engine components. At the high temperatures
inside a jet engine the particles can
potentially block fuel nozzles or even melt
and then solidify in other parts of the engine
causing mishandling or engine stoppage
 Effects - Environmental

Typ ica lg la ssy fra g m e n t fro m d u st re co ve re d fro m a n a ir fa lld e p o sit o n a ca r

in Lo u g h b o ro u g h o n 2 0 A p ril 2 0 1 0 .
 Effects - Miscellaneous
• Unwanted stress suffered by business
passengers
• Absence of foreign dignitaries at the
funeral of the late Polish president
Lech Kaczynski
• Garnered more interest in volcanoes as
a tourist spot
• Helped scientists understand much
more about the processes of
atmospheric circulation that help
determine Earth's weather
 Benefits to Future Studies
• Ash plumes can also serve as ideal "tracers"
for visualizing the movements of air
currents. In that respect, an eruption can
help scientists understand much more
about the processes of atmospheric
circulation that help determine Earth's
weather.
– Chemical analysis via satellite data can also
reveal how ash and gas clouds interact
with the atmosphere and whether the
particles in the plume will linger, dimming
the skies for extended periods.
– But observing how chemical changes work
in the plume can help scientists model the
ways in which truly massive eruptions
might have impacted Earth's climate in
 Sources
• http://books.google.com/books?id=QfhGuFwi0DgC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=identi
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• http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2010/volcano/volcanofaq.html#
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