Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano - Discussion Thread

[Guest]

I thought airports over the north of the UK were closed so how come flights are going Glasgow etc???

As far as I know Prestwick is closed so the ash boundary must lie somewhere in the 26 miles between the airports. We heard a jet overhead here at about 6.30pm but I couldn't find out where it was going or had been.

[The PIT]

No sign of a good sunset although the sky does look dusty.

[LadyPakal]

It's been nice most of the day but we now have black clouds. No chance of seeing a sunset here... nice or otherwise.

[The PIT]

It's been nice most of the day but we now have black clouds. No chance of seeing a sunset here... nice or otherwise.

So if you can get above the clouds I bet there's a beauty going on.

[Guest]

It's been nice most of the day but we now have black clouds. No chance of seeing a sunset here... nice or otherwise.

Sun still up above the horizon here and I can see it between the clouds. No sunset to talk of at all.

[LadyPakal]

It was exceptionally poor yesterday - barely any colour at all.

[john w]

http://www.flightradar24.com/

Link to radar,

Some airports will still show expected if they believe a flight will depart. There is the chance some craft actually departed before airspace closure and reported an expected arrival. Therefore, they will now fly to alternate or if need be turn back, secure a diversion etc.

Glasgow and Edinburgh as I see it are still operational...as much as they can be.

Airspace restrictions are from sfc to most flight levels and as such is a total closure, per se....so some routes are not possible across the UK. Nat Tracks - - - > America are deflected south.

I note they are now looking at the buffer zone to ash.....

Interesting that a couple of BA flights are over the Irish Sea at the moment...test flights maybe...deffo not usual British Airways 'Speedbird' flight numbers as BAW (UNDER ICAO)...sht....INTERESTING,

[coldfingers]

There you go. http://www.flightradar24.com/

Thank you so much PIT. I now have a whole new hobby, tracking my friends flights. I can even check out the ones I hear going over.

A new obsession for me.

It's been nice most of the day but we now have black clouds. No chance of seeing a sunset here... nice or otherwise.

So jealous, cloudy and feeling cold in the moderate wind here. None of the rain we badly need though. I wonder if the rain brought down ash if it would be good for my garden? After all volcanic slopes are supposed to be really fertile. Must look it up.

[The PIT]

Sun still up above the horizon here and I can see it between the clouds. No sunset to talk of at all.

Nothing special here I'll have to put a complaint into the ash management at the volcano. This isn't good enough no wonder Richard B thinks there's no ash about.

[coldfingers]

Interesting that a couple of BA flights are over the Irish Sea at the moment...test flights maybe...deffo not usual British Airways 'Speedbird' flight numbers as BAW (UNDER ICAO)...sht....INTERESTING,

They are flying at 35,00 feet, would that be high for the ash or around the right level I wonder.

[The PIT]

Some of these aircraft are taking some strange routes which does suggest they're flying round the ash.

Finally the latest update http://en.vedur.is/media/jar/Eyjafjallajokull_status_2010-05-16_IES_IMO.pdf

Edited May 16, 2010 by The PIT

[LadyPakal]

Nothing special here I'll have to put a complaint into the ash management at the volcano. This isn't good enough no wonder Richard B thinks there's no ash about.

It's not so much the ash as the SO2 & other aerosols that gives the colourful sunsets. Ash can make a 'blue moon' if the particles are fine enough. Often tho' it will appear more of a reddish colour because of the mix of particle size.

They are flying at 35,00 feet, would that be high for the ash or around the right level I wonder.

According to the meto:

The latest information from the Icelandic Met Office is that the Eyjafjallajokull volcano continues to erupt. It is estimated that the current height of the ash plume is generally between 23000 and 26000 ft (7 to 8 km), with extremes at 29500 feet (9 km). The latest emissions are moving southeastwards across the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and across parts of the British Isles. Issued at 1255 on Sun 16 May 2010.

So, above I guess.

[Guest]

It's not so much the ash as the SO2 & other aerosols that gives the colourful sunsets. Ash can make a 'blue moon' if the particles are fine enough. Often tho' it will appear more of a reddish colour because of the mix of particle size.

I saw pictures of a red rainbow on Facebook last week. This can be caused by ash in the air although it can occur when the sun is low in the sky too (or a bit of both). Very strange looking!

[coldfingers]

Apparently not all of Ireland is a no fly zone. They are sill flying into Cork at the moment.

Eyjafjallajokull seems to be playing hide and seek tonight still. Still last night's show wasn't spectacular.

[Coast]

Passengers using Britain's two busiest airports are facing major disruption after the return to UK airspace of the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano. Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports resumed limited flights after being completely closed until 0700 BST. Flights are grounded in Northern Ireland and much of Scotland and Wales.

news.bbc.co.uk

According to the BBC Breakfast news, Gatwick is not allowing in coming flights but allowing departing ones as the runways are clear in one area of the airport and not the other!!

NATS Statement:

Update on Monday 17 May, 0500

The volcanic ash cloud continues to change shape and two key areas affect operations stretching from the South of England to Northern Ireland, and over much of mainland Scotland to the Shetland Isles. As a result, no-fly zones have been imposed by the CAA in these areas, for the period 0700 local until 1300 local today (Monday).

Airports within the no-fly zones include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Northern Scotland. Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol and Farnborough are also in the no-fly zone.

Heathrow and Gatwick airports will be clear of the no-fly zone however restrictions will have to be applied due to their close proximity to the no-fly zone particularly affecting Gatwick inbounds.

5 day ash prediction charts from the MetO here: www.metoffice.gov.uk

[The PIT]

latest vaac graphic as for one side of the runway is clear and the other isn't I find that rather doubtful and bizarre. Anyway new safety limits are on there way by the sounds of things no doubt due to pressure from the airlines.

Nothing too see this morning although I suspect something is going on looking at these plots http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/Katla2009/stodvaplott.html

[LadyPakal]

Re: Gatwick. I smell even more bulls**t.

[Crimson_Sprite]

ho-hum, still cant see the beautiful plume from our lady.. I hope it clears soon so we can see the ash plume again!! I find it so addictive to watch! Anyone else not able to get pictures on the vodaphone cam? 2 days now on that one. Hvol, showing more cloud and fog, apparently there was a lot of lightning in the ash cloud yesterday accoring to the iceland meto report. Wouldve loved to see that.

[coldfingers]

5 New quakes. As well as the tremor plot rising a little.

My friends were extremely lucky, 2nd to last flight coming in to Gatwick early this morning. As for the ash situation there I find it extremely worrying that they could be so precise as to say one end of the airport is clear but not the other!!

Edited May 17, 2010 by coldfingers

[Crimson_Sprite]

New earthquake under the Katla glacier!!!!!!!! but its a -0.2???? haha! Negative richter scale How can an earthquake be measured below 0? hahaha!!

[cooling climate]

According to this website there were two earthquakes yesterday a few hundred miles

south,southeast of Spitsbergen. One was 4.8 the other 5.2.

http://earthquake.us...es/recenteqsww/

All part of the same fault line I would have thought.

Edited May 17, 2010 by cooling climate

[coldfingers]

What I find interesting is that three of these quakes are once again north of the volcano and in the valley. I do wonder what is happening in that area.

[LadyPakal]

New earthquake under the Katla glacier!!!!!!!! but its a -0.2???? haha! Negative richter scale How can an earthquake be measured below 0? hahaha!!

Quality of measurement is poor - 37 or so, see last column of table - so it is possible it is located wrongly or something. I'm sure it will more closely examined at some point and either disappear or be relocated or something.

[Iceberg]

A 4.7 Quake in the Greenland sea on the Mohns Ridge last night and a 4.7 out in the North Atlantic again during the night..

The Mohns ridge forms part of the Mid atlantic/mid artic ridge.

The other one was on a fault line linking upto the mid atlantic.

What we might be seeing is a response from the mid atlantic spreading of the larger chilean or even indonesian movements.

This would tie in with an upcoming active spell of Icelandic activity.

It might be worth keeping an eye on the wider earthquakes on or near the ridge which might give more warning than quake activity near the likes of Katlya.

[LadyPakal]

Oh noes, 2012 is really happening... all the plates are on the move & about to slip about wildly... *engage panic mode*

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Totally not serious, BTW - just in one of those moods...