Ash Analysis

Two types of ash were erupted from volcano one was explosive ash which was resulted from water and magma interaction which was light, powdery and was ejected more than 9-km high, so it traveled far and fell silently and other was magmatic ash which was granular and particles when fall on hard surface it create sound and it directly emitted from magma which was called as typical ash due to its typical dry nature. From ash analysis of the area it was observed that the explosive ash was 4.3 m2g and the typical ash was 0.45 m2g. The explosive ash particle size ranged from 25-200m diameter with 20% of mass was <10 m which can be inhaled during respiration while typical ash particle size was about 500 m. These Particles were sharp and contained andesitic glass, along with crystals of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine which put aircraft at risk from abrasion on windows and body and from melting in jet engines

The explosive ash that fell over southern Iceland and that reached Europe, as well as the typical, glassy ash, had hazardous F concentrations with a mean value of 104 milligrams of fluoride per kilogram of ash. Abundant fluoride on vegetables or in drinking water was of particular concern because high concentrations cause painful bone disorders. But relatively concentration (element %) of surface salts, particularly Cl and F, was lower on the explosive ash because the volume of volatiles available for condensation was lower during the initial eruptions than typical ash while Si and O concentration was relatively higher(Table 1). Total dissolved concentrations for F, Al, Fe, Mn and Br in the floodwaters on April 14 were high, well above European drinking water standards. The salts present in ash were epsomite, MgSO4 7H2O; scacchite, MnCl2; melanterite, FeSO4 7H2O; Na-metaborate, NaBO2; Naorthophosphate, Na3PO4; ralstonite, NaMgAlF4(OH)2.(H2O); hieratite, K2SiF6; malladrite, Na2SiF6; thenardite, Na2SO4 10H2O; arkanite, K2SO4; halite, NaCl; and antarcite, CaCl2 6H2O

Elements O Si Al Fe

Explosive Ash (%) 56.2 25.5 7.0 2.6

Typical Ash (%) 43.0 23.8 4.0 3.1

Mg Na Ca C K Cl F Ti P

2.5 1.8 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2

1.4 0.9 2.0 4.3 0.4 9.5 6.9 0.4 0.3

Hydro-meteorological Effect
The hydrometerological effects appeared were

A change in wind direction one week after the eruption began, finally led to ash accumulating over Icelandic airspace, causing Iceland to shut its own international airport at Reykjavk.

The volcanic eruption also triggered meltwater floods (also known as jkulhlaup) along nearby rivers, requiring 800 Icelandic people to be evacuated.

Economic Effect
The economic impacts of the eruption were enormous. The costs to businesses and tourism added up to more than 2 billion, as a number of different global networks suffered interrupted flows for a total of 6 days following April 14.

Tourist flows were halted. People cancelled immediately up-coming holidays, while 150,000 British tourists became stranded overseas and could not easily return when their home flights were cancelled.

Temporary movements of professional workers were brought to a halt. For instance, several UK bands could not fly to the famous US desert music festival in Coachella to perform. The Cribs with Johnny Marr, Frightened Rabbit and Bad Lieutenant were all grounded by the ash.

Some medical operations were cancelled after the movement of refrigerated human organs from overseas donors could not take place.

A near shutdown of the agricultural export sector in Kenya occurred. Refrigerated storehouses filled up and some exporters were forced to throw away produce destined for UK markets. On a normal day, 1,000 tons of perishable produce (worth 2 million) is flown to the UK. Flowers and vegetables valued at many millions of pounds were wasted and around 5,000 workers were temporarily laid off.