Physics of Cooling Lava :: physics lava volcano

On January 23rd 1973 a unused venthole unexpectedly erupted in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, southwest of Iceland. The new outlet was a fissure 1.25 miles long and solo 1100 yards from the center of town, also named Vestmannaeyjar. The new volcano was named Heimaey. The town was mostly evacuated over the next few old age and the lava slowly flowed towards town and the mouth of the harbor for the next seven months. Vestmannaeyjar is the only good harbour in that part of Iceland, and was the base for a bulky fishing fleet that produces a significant part of Icelands GNP. As the lava threatened to overrun the town and close off the harbor, a finale was made to try to slow and divert the lava by cooling it with sea water. The idea was initially scoffed at, but when small initial efforts seemed to have an force-out the scale of the operation was increased. Over seven months eight million three-d yards of sea water were pumped onto the lava flow they cooled 5 million solid yard s of basalt lava to solid rock. The harbor and much of the town survived the flush, likely as a result of the efforts to cool the lava.Iceland is known for its volcanic activity. A few old age before Heimaey erupted a nearby sub maritime eruption form the new island of Surtsey. The town of Vestmannaeyjar already had an extinct volcano on its outskirts, the volcano was known as Helgafell. It was thought to have been extinct for several one hundred years. In January 1973 a new fissure opened up a few hundred yards from the extinct volcano. It went clear across the island and into the ocean on both sides. Boats escaping the harbor saw red magma under the water, and sub oceanic power and water lines from the mainland were broken by the eruption. In the initial eruption a curtain of lava 500 feet erupted from the fissure, after a few age the eruption was mostly from a single vent, with a cinder cone cell 300 feet tall. The lava flows from the eruption were a viscous slow moving bas altic magma. Average speeds for the lava flows were 3 to 9 yards a day. These relatively slow speeds be what made it possible to try and cool and divert the lava.The lava was initially cooled with plague pumps and hoses, later in the effort large pumps were leased from the US phalanx and several fire fighting boats were used.