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

2. The Basics 6 km off the mainland
Last erupted January 23, – 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 1A

3. Vestmannaeyjar Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Youngest volcanic system in 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)
Fig 2A
Fig 2B

4. 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 (3A), 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 (3B)
Fig 3A
Fig 3B

5. 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
Fig 4A

6. Eldfell 1:55 AM January 23, 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
Fig 4A
Fig 4B

7. Fig 6A

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

9. 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 m3/sec
Seawater to the rescue!
Fig 8A

10. Simmer down now! Large scale cooling effort
Fig 9A
Simmer down now!
Large scale cooling 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 flows in order to lay pipe
Fig 9B

11. More on cooling Workers laying pipes over actively moving flows (10A)
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 event
Fig 10A

12. After the Eruption ~350 buildings burnt to 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 11A

13. Geothermal power
Heat was extracted from the slowly cooling lava flows; Fig 12A 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 12A

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

15. Heimaey Today Approximately 4,100 inhabitants (2011)
Fig 14B
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:
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 14B)
Fig 14A

16. Heimaey Hazard Map Lava and pyroclastics Hazard Map Proximal hazard
Medial Hazard
Distal Hazard
Hazard Maps created by Tom Saylor IV using GoogleEarth, USGS, known weather patterns and other documents for reference
Fig 15A

17. Hazard Map Cont. Tephra and Ejecta Hazard Map Proximal hazard
Medial Hazard
Distal Hazard
Hazard Maps created by Tom Saylor IV using GoogleEarth, USGS, known weather patterns and other documents for reference
Fig 16A

18. 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 17A (USGS,1973) shows the plume rising from Heimaey during the eruption.
Fig 17A

19. Volcanic (mostly) Videos
Follow this link for a video of the 1973 eruption and evacuation efforts:
Follow this link for an educational video on the 1963 Surtsey eruption and the 1973 eruption of Eldfell:
For nearly 30 minutes of uninterrupted Puffin action, follow this link:

20. Image References
1A : Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
2A : Gill, Victoria. "Could Another Icelandic Volcano Erupt Soon?" BBC News. BBC, 05 Oct Web. 04 Nov <
2B : Google Earth Screen Capture
3A: ÓVÁ. "Ingólfur Arnarson." Flickr. Yahoo!, 17 Feb Web. 05 Nov <
3B : "Space Aliens Blamed For Electric Universe." Space Aliens Blamed For Electric Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov <
4A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland." Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec <
5A : Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
5B : Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
6A : Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
7A : Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
7B : "Iceland in Pictures." Icelandpictures.tumblr.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov <
8A : Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
9A :
9B : Volcano.und.nodak.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov <
10A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland." Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec <
11A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland." Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec <
12A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland." Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec <
13A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland." Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec <
14A :
14B : Col, Ela. Puffin Photograph. Heimaey, Iceland. Flickr, 20 June Web. 4 Dec <
15A : Courtesy of Tom Saylor IV, 2012.
16A : Courtesy of Tom Saylor IV, 2012.
17A : "Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland." Man Against Volcano: Heimaey, Iceland. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec <

21. Text References
Centrum. N.p., n.d. Web. <
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
Morgan, A. V. "The Eldfell Eruption, Heimaey, Iceland: A 25-year Retrospective." Geoscience Canada 27.1 (2000): Web. 13 Nov
<
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