On 14 April 2010, Eyjafjallajökull had a violent and explosive eruption. The volcano had been dormant for 180 years. Very little lava came from the volcano, but huge amounts of ash were sent many kilometres into the air. The ash was then caught by winds and blown south-eastwards towards Europe. The eruption registered as a 3 to 4 on the VEI scale (see Fun Fact! below for an explanation). The eruption had many economic (financial) and social (affecting people) impacts.
Eyjafjallajökull
Using an atlas or Google Maps if necessary, name the countries that are either fully or partially covered by ash cloud.
Ash cloud VEI Examples 2006, Raoul Island
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8
9. The span of the ash cloud caused by the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull
2010, Sinabung
2011, Nabro
2010, Eyjafjallajökull
1980, Mount Saint Helens
1883, Krakatoa
1815, Tambora
640,000 BCE, Yellowstone
Locate the Eyjafjallajökull eruption of 2010 on the VEI scale. According to the scale, how large was that eruption?
BCE = Before Common Era and is the equivalent of BC CE = Common Era and is the equivalent of AD
16
very large
large moderate
small non-explosive
FUN FACT! Volcanoes have a scale
called the Volcanic Explosivity
Index (VEI). The index gives us a way to measure volcanic eruptions. The
scale goes from 0 to 8, with 0 being the weakest and 8 being the strongest.