Heimaey of Iceland An Icelandic tale of fire

Heimaey of Iceland An Icelandic tale of fire, flows, and Vestmann ingenuity T. Saylor IV

The Basics � 6 km off the mainland �Last erupted January 1 23, 1973 – Eldfell (Mountain of Fire) �Eruption ended late February of the same year �Island was originally fueled by Submarine volcanism and created by Helgafell �Fishing City �Population of ~ 4, 100 (2011) Fig 1 A

Vestmannaeyjar �Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge �Youngest volcanic system in Fig 2 A 2 Fig 2 B the Eastern zone of Icelandic volcanism (Subaerial vents of Holocene age) �Named after original Irish slave settlers �Vestmenn (West men), Aeyjar (Islands) �Most Famous Island, Heimaey �Also home to Surtsey (20 km to the SW)

Early History � Iceland first settled by the Norse Gaells (Ostmann, or East men) who brought Irish slaves in 874 (recognized as first settlers) � Hjörleifur, murdered by these slaves in his first year � Ingolfur (3 A), Hjörleifur’s blood brother tracked them down to Heimaey, and enacted revenge � Later, in 1627, the islands were captured by Barbary Pirates from Algiers � Gained modern fame through Surtseys eruption in 1963 (3 B) 3 Fig 3 A Fig 3 B

Icelands Volcanic History �~ 125 volcanic eruptions documented since 874 A. D. (USGS, 1973) � 14 offshore eruptions, centered mainly off of the Reykjanes Ridge (USGS, 1973 4 Fig 4 A

Eldfell � 1: 55 AM January 23, Fig 4 A 5 Fig 4 B 1973, 10 years after Surtsey �A 2 km long fissure opened in the ground in what was originally a peaceful field �A vent centralized to the NE and Eldfell was born

6 Fig 6 A

The Fissure/Cone �Dormant for approximately 5, 000 years � 20 million cubic meters of tephra ejected �Built the cone in 2 days �Eventually became 183 m tall (February of 1973) Fig 7 B 7 Fig 7 A

Lava! � 230 million cubic meters of lava �Alkali basalt (Murgearite to Hawaiite) �Flow rate of 3 -9 meters a day, moving towards the town and harbor, so low effusion rate �Submarine volcanism (Surtseyan), later moved to Hawaaiin �Initial Eruptive rate: 100 m 3/sec �Seawater to the rescue! Fig 8 A 8

Fig 9 A Simmer down now! �Large scale cooling 9 effort �Pumping equipment borrowed from the U. S. � 1. 5 billion gallons of water � 30 km of pipe � 43 pumps �Began in early July, 1973 �Used bulldozers to move tephra over the Fig 9 B

More on cooling � Workers laying pipes over 10 actively moving flows (10 A) � No casualties during this effort � A few cases of minor burns � The pipe supports quickly burned, but the pipes themselves were still cool due to the seawater moving through them that they survived. These pipes can still be seen today. � Mostly inhabitants who volunteered to stay and help fight the flames as well as a team of Icelandic scientists and engineers (USGS, 1973) � Most ambitious attempt by man to control a volcanic Fig 10 A

After the Eruption � ~350 buildings burnt to 11 the ground � 70 homes nearly completely buried in tephra � ~ 15 million cubic meters of tephra needed to be removed from the town � Most of the towns original inhabitants returned for the cleanup efforts. Fig 11 A

Geothermal power �Heat was extracted from 12 the slowly cooling lava flows; Fig 12 A shows latent subthermal heat after the 1973 eruption �Used as a heating system for the town of Vestmannaeyjar �System emplaced in 1979 and operated for ten years until the flows cooled. Fig 12 A

Geothermal System Schematic � Fig 13 A; a USGS schematic for the geothermal heating system used in Heimaey, Iceland. 13

Heimaey Today Fig 14 B �Approximately 4, 100 inhabitants (2011) �Still Icelands most important fishing harbor �For a sweet panorama showing the town today as well as Helgafell and Eldfell, follow this link: http: //www. vestmannaeyjar. pano 3 d. eu/ �Þjóðhátíð, a festival celebrating Icelands independence from Denmark is now the main attraction Heimaey offers; 24 hours of fun and beer! �Also home to Puffins!Fig (Fig 14 A 14 B) 14

Heimaey Hazard Map � Lava and 15 pyroclastics Hazard Map � Proximal hazard � Medial Hazard � Distal Hazard � Hazard Maps created by Tom Saylor IV using Google. Eart h, USGS, known weather patterns and other Fig 15 A

Hazard Map Cont. � Tephra and 16 Ejecta Hazard Map � Proximal hazard � Medial Hazard � Distal Hazard � Hazard Maps created by Tom Saylor IV using Google. Earth, USGS, known weather patterns and other Fig 16 A

A note on the previous Hazard Map � During the 1973 eruption, prevailing winds blew tephra to the North East rather than the South West. � The dominant wind pattern for Heimaey is a South Westerly wind, but depending on time of year as well as other weather conditions this can change (Weather Underground, 2012). � Fig 17 A (USGS, 1973) shows the plume rising from Heimaey during the 1973 eruption. Fig 17 A 17

Volcanic (mostly) Videos �Follow this link for a video of the 1973 eruption and evacuation efforts: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=VX 9 e 9 ei 6 v 3 s �Follow this link for an educational video on the 1963 Surtsey eruption and the 1973 eruption of Eldfell: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=_s. Rw_e 5 RA 34 �For nearly 30 minutes of uninterrupted Puffin action, follow this link: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=y. Vr. RJv. Zd. ZHg 18

Image References 19 � 1 A : Centrum. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. centrum. is/~edda/heimaey 1. html>. � 2 A : Gill, Victoria. "Could Another Icelandic Volcano Erupt Soon? " BBC News. BBC, 05 Oct. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http: //news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/8668604. stm>. � 2 B : Google Earth Screen Capture � 3 A: ÓVÁ. "Ingólfur Arnarson. " Flickr. Yahoo!, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. <http: //www. flickr. com/photos/2 odinn/5451743423/lightbox/>. � 3 B : "Space Aliens Blamed For Electric Universe. " Space Aliens Blamed For Electric Universe. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http: //www. thunderbolts. info/tpod/2007/arch 07/071105 spacealiens. htm>. � 4 A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. " Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. <http: //pubs. usgs. gov/gip/heimaey/>. � 5 A : Centrum. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. centrum. is/~edda/heimaey 1. html>. � 5 B : Centrum. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. centrum. is/~edda/heimaey 1. html>. � 6 A : Centrum. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. centrum. is/~edda/heimaey 1. html>. � 7 B : "Iceland in Pictures. " Icelandpictures. tumblr. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http: //icelandpictures. tumblr. com/post/17314265440/vestmannaeyjar>. � 8 A : Centrum. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. centrum. is/~edda/heimaey 1. html>. � 9 A : http: //ffden-2. phys. uaf. edu/212_spring 2005. web. dir/philip_fitzgerald/tecniques. htm � 9 B : Volcano. und. nodak. edu. N. p. , n. d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http: //volcano. und. nodak. edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/heimaey. html>. � 10 A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. " Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. <http: //pubs. usgs. gov/gip/heimaey/>. � 11 A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. " Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. <http: //pubs. usgs. gov/gip/heimaey/>. � 12 A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. " Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. <http: //pubs. usgs. gov/gip/heimaey/>. � 13 A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. " Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. <http: //pubs. usgs. gov/gip/heimaey/>. � 14 A : http: //drinks. seriouseats. com/images/2011/09/20110901 iceland-500. jpg � 14 B : Col, Ela. Puffin. 2012. Photograph. Heimaey, Iceland. Flickr, 20 June 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http: //www. flickr. com/photos/elacol/7427598690/>. � 15 A : Courtesy of Tom Saylor IV, 2012.

Text References � Centrum. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. centrum. is/~edda/heimaey 1. html>. � Einarsson, T. , 1974, The Heimaey eruption in words and pictures: Heimskringla, Reykjavik, 56 p. � "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. " Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. � Morgan, A. V. "The Eldfell Eruption, Heimaey, Iceland: A 25 -year Retrospective. " Geoscience Canada 27. 1 (2000): 11 -18. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. � <http: //pubs. usgs. gov/gip/heimaey/>. � Simkin, T. , and Siebert, L. , 1994, Volcanoes of the World: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p. � Williams, R. S. , and Moore, J. G. , 1983, Man against volcano: The eruption on Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland: U. S. Geological Survey General Interest Publication, 27 p 20