Faculty: Professors Steven Carey and Harladur Sigurdsson
Graduate School of Oceanography
STA: Brian Schwark
Date: 2003

This site was created for Professors Steven Carrey and Haraldur Siggurdson of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography by Student Technology Assistant Brian Schwark. This site has a login and id that only allows students taking the course to view the site. The website also include QuickTime VR technology.

On January 23 1973 a new volcanic fissure rifted apart the island of Heimaey south of Iceland, marking the beginning of one of the most destructive eruptions in Iceland’s history. As the eruption broke out just east of the town of Vestmannaeyjar, within 300 m distance from the nearest houses, it had a catastrophic impact on the population of 5,300 and caused immediate evacuation.

To view the Heimaey Camtasia Tour above,
you need to have the latest flash player installed. This video may take a while to download, please be patient.

The story is told here of the various stages of the eruption and how it affected the people of the island of Heimaey, the destruction of their homes and other property and how it threatened the livelihood of these hardy fishermen who extract their bounty from the North Atlantic ocean. The Heimaey eruption is in many ways a very informative and almost unique example of the impact of a volcanic eruption on a community because the volcanic processes and hazards were complex and varied.

Camtasia was used to provide a means for the STA team to show the site to viewers who don't have access privileges to the actual site. To learn more about Camtasia, click here.