Final hazards report: Iceland

Over the past few months I've learned extensively about the natural hazards and disasters that Iceland faces each year. Subsidence, earthquakes, flooding, extreme weather, etc. are just a few of the natural hazards that affect the inhabitants of Iceland but for this final report we're going to focus on the one that bring the most devastation to Iceland: Volcanoes.

Iceland is a Nordic country located between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. It's located right on top of the Mid Atlantic Ridge which is the reason for so much of it's volcanic activity. Add to this a divergent tectonic plate boundary and it's location over a hot spot, an area thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is unusually hot compared with the surrounding mantle, and you have one of the most geologically active, volcanic areas on Earth. Right now, Iceland has 30 active volcanoes that are being continuously monitored. Also, as if Iceland didn't have enough reasons to have so much seismic and volcanic activity we now have to add global warming/climate change into the mix. As the ice caps are melting the country is seeing more volcanic activity than ever. As the surface of the earth rises from the release of ice, the rocks underneath move and transport heat, which creates situations that are ripe for eruptions.

As I covered in my volcano post in week 5, Iceland has nearly all known types of volcanoes and they are Iceland's biggest and most dangerous natural hazard. Small eruptions happen every 4-5 years in Iceland and they can be either an annoying bother to the inhabitants or catastrophic to all of Iceland and other countries. Lava flow from the eruptions doesn't carry much concern for many inhabitants as there aren't that many houses located at the foot of a volcano, but it's the tephra or pyroclast that spews into the atmosphere that can cause the most lasting effects. As we saw with Eyjafjallajökull, back in 2010, a volcanic eruption doesn't just affect the country where the eruption happens but can affect other countries too. There are also the numerous other hazards/disasters that a volcanic eruption can cause: earthquakes, which are caused by the flow of magma beneath the surface, and glacier flooding(jökulhlaups), which is caused by the melting ice from the lava flow. Volcanic activity brings with it a whole list of possible disasters and this is why Iceland monitors all activity so closely.

Risky area: 
The biggest worry for Iceland is an eruption of Katla which is located on the southern side of Iceland.  One of the fears with Eyjafjallajökull erupting in 2010 was that it could also set off Katla nearby. Katla is considered one of Iceland's most dangerous volcanoes. In the past 1,000 years, all three known eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull have triggered subsequent Katla eruptions, except the one in 2010. An eruption of Katla would be 50 times worse than the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. The flooding alone from an eruption of Katla would be mean more water than the Amazon and Nile rivers combined and flood damage to all the outlying areas near Katla would be devastating. Glacier flooding from Katla is estimated to reach the coast within 45 minutes. As you can see from the above map, that is quite a bit of area open to flood damage and that's not including all damage from the tephra the volcano would spew. Scientists and geologists watch Katla very closely. According to my research, Grimsvotn and Hekla would be the other two volcanoes to watch closely.  

Recommendations:
The Icelandic Meteorological Office continuously monitors volcanic activity through the South Iceland Lowland national seismic network and though GPS stations. Records are kept for every single day of the year. They take significant measures to monitor the seismic activity on the island. Even with this monitoring, volcanic eruptions can be different each time and predicting volcanoes is not an exact science. There is no certainty in volcanic activity. Understanding how they happen can be crucial to saving lives and reducing damage to infrastructure and other property but for now it's all about analyzing possibility after possibility of how events could unfold. 

Thankfully Iceland has many preventative measure in place to ensure the safety of it's inhabitants. Iceland has The Civil Protection Act, a document that outlines the different responsibilities of the state, regional, and municipal governments to ensure the safety of their citizens, property, and infrastructure. Due to this act they formed the Civil Protection and Emergency Management System, which is a department of the state government tasked with implementing measures to protect the well being and safety of the public and prevent them from harm. In addition to this, Iceland has 112 which is a 24-hour emergency call center that responds to absolutely all safety concerns imaginable. For tourist safety they have SafeTravel, which include travel guides, weather reports, and search and rescue information. They have safety guides and pamphlets for most volcanic zones in the country. Iceland has disaster precautions pretty much covered.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to make recommendations for mitigating volcano hazards when there are so many different ways the eruption can go and so until it happens you won't know what problems you will have to face. As far as recommendations I could make, I would just make sure that those that live closest to the eruption have easy access to water and breathing masks in case of an eruption. Tephra is the biggest concern after a volcano for those closest to it. It can build up to tens of centimeters depending on the type of eruption. Water supplies can be polluted if chemical compounds attach to the tephra’s surface and so it's very important that nearby inhabitants have access to clean water. Clean water plays an important role in the future of Iceland's population. The 1783 eruption of the Laki fissure caused catastrophic damage to crops and livestock which in turn caused a famine and lead to a 25% loss of Iceland's population following the event. I would also continue to work closely with the Icelandic Met office to ensure that we had the most up to date information regarding volcanic activity. Communication between all the government offices is vital to keeping the people of Iceland safe.


Where would I live:
I would live and build a house in Reykjavik. Being the biggest city in Iceland means easy access to the nation's response system in times of disaster. Reykjavik is relatively safe on the disaster scale despite the many hazards the country faces. Even though it's located near the ocean, the storms that hit usually don't cause catastrophic damage. Unlike many cities in the North, they aren't in danger of landslides. Glacier flooding is minimum although when it happens it affects the main highway. And even though Iceland on a whole is "isolated" Reykjavik is home to about 64% of the inhabitants of Iceland so there isn't much chance that I will find myself in danger and all alone like I would if I lived in one of the smaller towns, in another area of Iceland. The only worry I can see to living is Reykjavik is that, in past eruptions, lava has reached the outskirts of the city. I would definitely need to look at that when deciding on where in Reykjavik to build a house. 

Thanks so much for reading my blog this semester. I hope that you have learned as much about Iceland as I have. I'm headed to Iceland, for the first time, in October and it's been very exciting (and educational) to spend so much time reading about this country. I can only hope that none of these natural disasters happen while I am visiting:)

Jennifer  


Works cited
Thompson, Andrea. "How Did Iceland Form?". Livescience.com. 22 March 2010.  Web. http://www.livescience.com/8129-iceland-form.html

Andrea Thompson

Andrea Thompson

Andrea Thompson

Wikipedia contributors. "Hotspot (geology)". Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 13 May 2016. Web.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotspot_%28geology%29

Wikipedia contributors. "Geology of Iceland". Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 March 2016. Web. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Geology_of_Iceland&id=709003963

Wikipedia contributors."Katla Volcano" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 11 May 2016. Web. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katla_volcano

Fountain, Henry."Pressure, and Mystery, on the Rise". New York Times. 5 Jan, 2015. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/science/predicting-what-a-volcano-may-or-may-not-do-is-as-tricky-as-it-is-crucial-as-iceland-well-knows.html?_r=0 

Goldberg, Suzanne. "Climate change is lifting Iceland". The Guardian. 30 Jan 2015. Web. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/30/climate-change-lifting-iceland-volcanic-eruptions


Jang, Brittany. "Geography of Danger: Reykjavík". Prezi.com. 04 March 2016. Web. https://prezi.com/kcgeedes3fsv/geography-of-danger-reykjavik/

Civil Protection of Iceland. http://www.almannavarnir.is/displayer.asp?cat_id=357