Iceland

Volcano Eyjafjallajökull

   March/April 2010 

N. Fischer, M.Fulle, Th.Boeckel


Cinema

Video Sakura Jima, Suwanose Jima


Eruption of the volcano Eyjafjalla at the 14th of April 2010

The deep valley of tears was already crossed at Monday the 12th of April at our arrival day. The first plan to get the fissure at Flimmvolhals together with an aurora on photo was perfectly hammered, when at the same day the message came, the place in the super truck is available but the eruption stopped. Fine, from a good friend I got the e-mail that my good years of luck are over. Depressed we trunk joking with serious faces ice tea against depressions, orange juice for the hope, and apple juice (less) for the happiness. Ok that’s it, one week teasing ponies- geyser Strokkur –and back home. Because of the catastrophic weather prognosis I proposed to fly earlier. And if in Iceland the weather is bad, it-is-really-bad. And now I took one sentence, which I copied from the last two reports. ‘And everything came elsewise’.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

First impressions 15 hours after the eruption. Tar pitch black the northern lain plume appeared, the southern was steaming snowy white. Maybe amass glacier water was running in the south side of the fissure and was directly steamed up.

Only 35 hours after our psycodelic juice cure a really nervous mood came up in the hotel Ranga at the morning of the 14th of April. Partly we got the news that a strange volcanic happening was going on. After a short time, the braking news received us. The Eyjafjalla Volcano was erupting with an immense explosion at 3:00 o’clock in the morning. Wow!! The evidences brought the aerial recordings and photos with the infrared cameras, which were sent promptly in the Islands RUV-News. They reported from three new craters in a one km fissure. At 11:00 am we could also see for two minutes from a distance of 25km the huge white-grey shining steam cloud which seems to arise to nowhere. The medias told about 6-8 km

Then, the weather changed completely to bad and till Friday no one could observe the volcano from the ground. Here only one action could brought the solution: Helicopter…. Jorge, photographer from Portugal was pushing vehement (Thank’s Jorge) to take the first flight in the evening the same day. Then we upraised over the dense cloud layers and a phenomenal view surprised us.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Ash fall under the eruption cloud

The first view from a flight distance of ca. 6 km was phenomenal. Never before I saw something tar pitch black- this was the first thought of all. Due to the countless small ash knobs the you can guess what mighty dimention this plume had. The estimated height was about 5000m near the vents and futher up to 7-8 km. The lenght was not to realise, but who can watch out for more than 1000 km. Up to this time no one could know that this eruption of the 'bad Eyja' would close nearly the whole European air space. First North Scandinavia, then great Britain, the German, French and Spanisch airspaces were declared to a flight free zone. At Saturday the ash cloud moved with success over North Italy. Measured distance about 2750 Km. Not bad. Anyhow we had a funny feeling on the island, many other not.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

During the decend flight you could see the landscape under the eruption center.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

The glacier area under neath the eruption vent. Still in the afternoon the Iceland TV documented mighty meltwater falls at the outlet tunnels of the glacier. Right photo: The big basin (1,5km) underneath the glacier of the Eyjafjalla was damping the two floods and may preserved the population in the western lands of a big lahar.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Flight over the flooded land during the 1rst flood at the 4.14.2010

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel  

Greetings from the glacier. The second flood at the 4/16/2010 was three times stronger than the first. Artifical collecting ponds intercepted with success the melting ice water mass. From the long way of 25km most ice boulders were completly rounded  and were 'discarded' in bullets up to.1,5m. This gave the landscape a new shapening.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel  

And here the main protection target. The ring highway A1 surrounds the whole Iceland. This was also the only connection to the south.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

The dikes near the bridge were opened by carterpillars to detour the pressing floods for saving the important bridge construction.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel      Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

The big meltwater mass pored over the floodland and deformed the terrain.

Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Over 25km was the distance fron the glacier outlets to the bridge.

   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Ice aesthetic. Hard to believe that a volcano was the reason


After the ash in the southern region, (4/21/10)

    Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Since the 20th of April the reconstruction of the dikes by the civil forces to the A1 highway bridge was done and the connection was able to the southern region. The first time we could see the 'other side'. Black, with a thin layer of new snow the Eyjajallajöküll glacier was offered to us.

Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel    Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Due to the volcanic activity, villages, farms and grazes were covered within a 5cm ash layer.

Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel    Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boecke   Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Annoying dust removal on streets and buildings.

    Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel   Eruption of Eyjafjalla, Island 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel

Only a few kilomtres before the ash track the world seemed to be O.K. But inside the ash falling region the farmers had big problems to fed the animals. No gras halm was discovered on the grazes.


Jump to
Island 2010, by Martin Rietze Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel Eyjafoell Eruption 2010 by Thorsten Boeckel Eruption Eyjafjalla Volcano, Islan2010, by Thorsten Boeckel
Fissure Eruption Lightning Ice and Fire
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