Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano - Discussion Thread

[coldfingers]

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...

Why do people jump on this silly bandwagon of following dates! (Not meaning you ladyP I recognise that strange sense of humour as I have it myself.)

2012 will go the way of the millenium bug and the comet hysterics. I would only get worried if an ancient volcano in Scotland became active!

[The PIT]

latest vaac

Otherwise bar hot air from British airways not a lot to report. Fog hides the volcano and with shifting winds the ash cloud won't be a problem unless the deep FI northerly comes off. There does seem to be slight increase of seismic activity though.

[nightfire800]

I would only get worried if an ancient volcano in Scotland became active!

As long as it's not in Cornwall next month cause I'll be there then.

[LadyPakal]

I think she meant Edinburgh... now that would be a sight to behold!

New linkie:

http://ashalerts.com/2010/05/17/latest-developments-ash-cloud-according-to-university-of-cologne/

Ash Alerts-

Volcano, ash clouds and airline news

[SnowBear]

Unfortunately the media has blown the 2012 meaning right out of proportion for sure ;-)

I guess doom saying makes its money now even as it did in the dark ages etc lol

[LadyPakal]

There will always be someone on a street corner somewhere with a 'The End is Nigh' sign.

Sorry - but it's a condition for use:

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons

I think we need the Lady to emerge from her white shroud for a bit... she has lifted her skirts a bit and is showing some ankle on Thoro. I could be wrong (hard to see properly) but it loks like a bit more melt water is running today.

Edited May 17, 2010 by LadyPakal

[Crimson_Sprite]

Maybe I'm some kinda crazy wingnut, but I think it would be dead exciting if all of the plates starting moving and making loads of volcanoes go off.

I dont wish death and famine on anybody, so this is from a purely selfish point of view, but I always find it really exciting when Mother Nature shows man just how insignificant he really is and how little control we really have over this Earth. I love extreme weather and natural phenomenon (sp?) so I relish the thought of Iceland perhaps coming into a cycle of volcanoic activity, as this surely will affect the weather globally if there is enough eruptions, and I would love to have some extreme weather!

I'm still waiting for some storms to come... Im so jeolous of my family back in America

[LadyPakal]

So, is that dark area at the middle top of this cam image, the ash cloud or wishful thinking?

http://www.simnet.is/jonfr500/earthquake/vefmyndeyjafjalmulaen.html

[LadyPakal]

Yep, it's the ash cloud - skies clearing everyone! She's still going at it like a dog at its testicles.

BTW, I am finding this blog fascinating: http://gummiey.posterous.com/

Edited May 17, 2010 by LadyPakal

[jethro]

Some scientists seem to think this is only the beginning of a long period of activity:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7127706.ece

[Crimson_Sprite]

boo-hoo, I cant see it! I keep getting pictures like this

and the voda-fone cam has been out for days... hvol's not working either? hmmm..

oh wait- I think I can see it a bit now!!!!

Edited May 17, 2010 by Crimson_Sprite

[coldfingers]

I think she meant Edinburgh... now that would be a sight to behold!

New linkie:

http://ashalerts.com...ity-of-cologne/

Ash Alerts-

Volcano, ash clouds and airline news

You got it in one LadyP. Arthur's Seat and Castle Rock was what I had in mind. Imagine the panic in Princes Street!

[LadyPakal]

It's there - just massively overexposed. It's that grey billowy stuff at the top of the screen.

Hvol is back - well, it just came up for me.

Valley of the ash, sorry, Thoro is back too. Tiny sliver of blue sky, top right. Grey ash I think top left.

You got it in one LadyP. Arthur's Seat and Castle Rock was what I had in mind. Imagine the panic in Princes Street!

One of the first things we learnt in college about volcanos. There are a few in the Lakes too.

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=774

Extinct supervolcano, apparently.

Edited May 17, 2010 by LadyPakal

[coldfingers]

It's there - just massively overexposed. It's that grey billowy stuff at the top of the screen.

Hvol is back - well, it just came up for me.

Valley of the ash, sorry, Thoro is back too. Tiny sliver of blue sky, top right. Grey ash I think top left.

One of the first things we learnt in college about volcanos. There are a few in the Lakes too.

Teaching my son about volcanos, sills and dykes etc, a few years ago, I was amazed to realise that Dartmoor was all part of the same granite outcrop that even went under the sea and connected with the Isles of Scilly. So at one time all volcanic but that is more than ancient! More likely when the earth was forming.

I suppose that is why Cornwall, Wales and the West Coast of Scotland is so good for fossicking for semi-precious stones.

Is anyone getting the vodaphone cam working? I haven't been able to get it for days now.

Edited May 17, 2010 by coldfingers

[Crimson_Sprite]

yep- hvol's back for me too- I just noticed that in my post a few above this where I inserted the picture at Mulakot, that you dont even need to keep refreshing it on a different tab, as my post refreshes the pictures live!

anyone getting vodaphone/eldgos cam yet?

[LadyPakal]

No vodaphone - it's not even saving images. I think it is stuck under ash fall & they can't get in to fix it.

[coldfingers]

It is really hard to see so can't be sure but zooming in as far as possible on the Thorolfsfelli cam it appears that the lowest steam hole on the glacier could once again be emiting steam. I really need that vodaphone cam to be sure though!

[Crimson_Sprite]

! omg- look at the hvol's cam! plume looks mega!!

[coldfingers]

! omg- look at the hvol's cam! plume looks mega!!

It sure does, not surprising there is so much ash on the rocks in the foreground on the Thorolfsfelli cam. Still it appears to have detered the tourists.

No bad thing then!

[coldfingers]

Look at the Thorolfsfelli cam, bottom of the mountain. Light area that looks like dust storm or something. Could it be a landslip?

Edited May 17, 2010 by coldfingers

[loobiloo]

Look at the Thorolfsfelli cam, bottom of the mountain. Light area that looks like dust storm or something. Could it be a landslip?

I saw it too, and it glowed brightly on the thermal cam. A few minutes later it was gone!

[coldfingers]

I saw it too, and it glowed brightly on the thermal cam. A few minutes later it was gone!

Loking at it now it does appear to be the wind whipping up the dust along the valley floor. Must be quite a bit there judging by the amount on the rocks above.

[The PIT]

Well only one web cam showing the plume and it's looking good. Anyone see the BA chairman grumbling about the flight ban.

[loobiloo]

A new ash zone is to be introduced, called 'time limited'. Apparently it will minimise flight disruptions.

In other words, they have pushed the goalposts further apart yet again.

http://www.travelio....disruption.html

From midday on Tuesday this will allow planes to fly for a limited period when volcanic ash is present in the air at higher ash densities than currently permitted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8685913.stm

Edited May 17, 2010 by loobiloo

[The PIT]

Latest update

The height (a.s.l.) of the eruption plume is about 6-7 km according to radar, occasionally pulsating to 9 km (27,000 ft). Winds around the volcano are slightly increasing, resulting in lower plume height. The plume is drifting east and is dark-gray.

Ash has fallen in the Gnúpverjahreppur area, on the road to Sultartangi power station and in the Biskupstungur area (very fine particled and gray). Constant lightning has been detected, up to 10 flashes per hour. The ash plume rises straight up from the site.

The volcanic activity is explosive, but there are indications that it has somewhat lessened since the maximum on 13 May. Considerable ashfall is in the nighbouring communities and is expected to continue. Fluctuations in the strength of the eruption and in ashfall can still be expected. Details in status report issued collectively by the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the Institute of Earth Sciences at 17:00.

A new ash zone is to be introduced, called 'time limited'. Apparently it will minimise flight disruptions.

In other words, they have pushed the goalposts further apart yet again.

http://www.travelio....disruption.html

From midday on Tuesday this will allow planes to fly for a limited period when volcanic ash is present in the air at higher ash densities than currently permitted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8685913.stm

Scary isn't it. Soon they'll be able fly directly through the plume over the volcano.