When the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland began to break out in 2021, experts gathered to create defensive barriers with dirt to protect civilians in the surroundings.
The crews of the Icelandic Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management worked 24 hours a day to build obstacles to reduce the flow of lava. A study in the field, led by the professor of the Norwegian University of Sciences and Technology (NTNU), Fjola Gudrun Sigtryggsdottir, analyzed the effectiveness of these prevention methods and if they could be used in the future.
“The main lesson we learned from this experience in the field was that it is possible to control the flows of lava – to some extent. press release.
A field study on an active volcano
The Fagradalsfjall volcano had not broken out for almost 800 years. However, everything recently changed when the volcano began to show signs of seismic activity and finally broke out in March 2021.
To protect civilian life and infrastructure, the construction teams used bulldozers and excavators to build earth barriers and rocky dams. Meanwhile, Sigtryggsdottir conducted a field study to measure the effectiveness of the barrier.
According to the study, published in Volcanology bulletin,, During an eruption that can have an impact on civilian life, The delay in lava flow and preservation time is the ultimate goal. In this case, the study revealed that the crews delayed the flow of the lava for 16 days. The barriers and the dams also diverted the lava towards a safe direction.
Learn more:: How to stay safe before, during and after a volcano eruption
Volcanic construction protection
Before the eruption, the Icelandic Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (DCPEM) already discussed attenuation plans. Before the Fagradalsfjall volcano burst, the region already knew a seismic activity, including 40,000 earthquakes.
DCPEM officials, as well as SigtryGgsdottir, researchers from the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Meteorological Bureau, and Verkis engineers and EFLA consulting companies, have mapped areas that lava flows could have an impact on protection methods to ensure the security of the region.
The volcano continued to break out for several months, but slowed down in September 2021. From there, the researchers tested different methods, including temporary and long -term measures.
In total, the crews built three backfilling dams in dirt and stone, the highest of which was about 26 feet high. The crew also built two 1100 -foot long barriers which helped to divert the flow of lava in a different direction.
Protect the future
The information taken from this study in the field would prove useful because the volcano started to break out at the end of 2023. The managers, using a guide assembled by Sigtryggsdottir, set up appropriate protections and protected GrindavÃk with a geothermal power plant outside the city.
Without these protections, lava may have had an impact on the city.
“If the barriers had not been built, several of the houses would now be under the lava,” said Sigtryggsdottir in a press release.
However, the landscape around the volcano continues to change. Recently, a new crack has opened its doors near GrindavÃk. Although the eruption did not last long, nothing has been destroyed. In the meantime, surveillance always takes place as things change, but there are now better security measures in place.
“Although there is a lot of uncertainty concerning the development of the eruption itself, it is fully possible to delay and divert the flows of lava. There are a lot of challenges, but civil society and infrastructure can be protected, and when we can, we must seize the opportunity and believe that it will work,” said SigtryggSdottir in a press release.
Learn more:: Volcanic eruption warnings are now possible with fiber optic cables
Sources of articles
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A graduate of Uw-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including a focus on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. His current work also appears on his travel blog and his Common State magazine. His love of science came to watch PBS shows like a child with his mother and spend too much time at Binging Doctor who.
