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Lava-Cooling Operations During the 1973 Eruption of Eldfell Volcano, Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-724

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Table of Contents

Editor's Introduction
by R.S.Williams, Jr.

Lava Cooling
by T. Sigurgeirsson

Lava Cooling on Heimaey: Methods and Procedures
by V.K. Jónsson
and M. Matthíasson

Appendix 1

Appendix 2


Figure 2. Index maps of Iceland, the Vestmannaeyjar volcanic archipelago, and the island of Heimaey with the fishing community of Vestmannaeyjar. (Modified from Williams and Moore, 1976 a, b and 1983, and the National Land Survey of Iceland, 1979.)

Richard S. Williams, Jr., Editor
U.S. Geologic Survey, Woods Hole Field Center, MA


In order to protect public and private property from being destroyed by lava flows, various plans and actual attempts have been made in the past on volcanoes to stop or divert lava flows. The most extensive ever attempted, however, were the lava-cooling operations on Heimaey, Iceland, and the two excellent accounts of the operations that were published in Icelandic by a geophysicist, Thorbjörn Sigurgeirsson, and two engineers, Valdimar Kr. Jónsson and Matthías Matthíasson, are translated into English in this open-file report.

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Table of Contents


Editor's Introduction


Lava Cooling


Methods and Procedures


Appendix 1


Appendix 2

--DISCLAIMER--
This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic Code. The use of trade, product, or industry names in this report is for descriptive or location purposes only and does not constitute endorsement of products by the U.S. Government. Opinions and conclusions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the USGS.

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