Volcanic Ash Cloud from Iceland

[Paul Hamilton]

There are currently no aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules between Iceland and Germany.  All scheduled flights to and from Iceland, Scotland, England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and much of France have been cancelled.  In this picture, each small rectangle marks an aircraft position.

Paul

[Donna]

This is terrible. Thanks Paul.

[valhalla]

There are currently no aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules between Iceland and Germany.  All scheduled flights to and from Iceland, Scotland, England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and much of France have been cancelled.  In this picture, each small rectangle marks an aircraft position.

Paul

Thanks Paul!  As much of a nuisance as the closures may be, I never want to see another plane come down again.  I still hold my breath, as they are heading into National right over head.

[carla]

There are currently no aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules between Iceland and Germany.  All scheduled flights to and from Iceland, Scotland, England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and much of France have been cancelled.  In this picture, each small rectangle marks an aircraft position.

Paul

This is so strainge,so quiet.I can't see the ash,because it is to high in the air,but I can hear lots of birds.Greetings Carla

[jeanne]

It is such a major inconvenience for travelers-- especially those who are sidelined at an airport with no means to stay elsewhere.  Still, it is for the good.  This ash can cause horrific consequences for planes.  Near the glacier, there are floods due to the melting.   

[Bobbie Ireland]

There are currently no aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules between Iceland and Germany.  All scheduled flights to and from Iceland, Scotland, England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and much of France have been cancelled.  In this picture, each small rectangle marks an aircraft position.

Paul

This is so strainge,so quiet.I can't see the ash,because it is to high in the air,but I can hear lots of birds.Greetings Carla

Eerily silent over Irish airspace too, tho we are not as hard-hit as UK and the Continent. Right now, I am listening to a wildlife programme on Irish radio, where they are discussing the effects, if any, which this ash cloud might have on migratory birds. Some - Whooper Swans, Pink-footed Geese, Greylag Geese, Puffins - are now returning to Iceland on their northward Spring migration and have been seen covered in ash. Most birds, however, appear to migrate at lower altitudes - and they are also smart enough to go around the clouds. I'd be interested, tho - as we all would - to hear others input on this. If the eruption continues, there could indeed be further problems - geese especially will be ingesting affected grass, while Puffins will return to traditional burrows and attempt excavating through the ash. So there could be more to this than a few cancelled flights...

A not-very-Slainte (Cheers!) message this time...
Bobbie

[Bobbie Ireland]

Jeanne! Sorry! You and I were posting re the ash and its consequences at the same time, so it looks like I was criticising... not so! Just two POVs at once... Take it from someone who knows what it is like to sit in an airport... and sit... and sit a bit more...

[jeanne]

Bobbie,

It's fine!!!    I immediately thought of birds (just like with the recent China earthquake, yes, I thought of people, but thought of the pandas).  As much as this affects people, I always think that animals are so much more affected by the elements in so many ways. 

[Bobbie Ireland]

Thanks, Jeanne! I agree.

[Aafke]

There are currently no aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules between Iceland and Germany.  All scheduled flights to and from Iceland, Scotland, England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and much of France have been cancelled.  In this picture, each small rectangle marks an aircraft position.

Paul

and The Netherlands!!!!

[dale]

"in 1821, the same volcano managed to erupt for more than a year."

[Aafke]

Today I drove twice around Amsterdam airport, it was really strange to see no airplanes at all, normally you see airplanes everywhere, in the air, coming or going.
I went to the beach to look for the sun and the special color effects but I was too late, he was gone in the sea. I will try again tomorrow.
greetings Aafke
 

[Donna]

Yeah I would think strange too, going to an airport and not seeing any planes. Hope this ends soon and not a year like last time. I can imagine the ice that is melting from this.

Hundreds of exasperated tourists hunkered down Saturday at JFK Airport, sleeping on cots while waiting for word on the Icelandic ash cloud that kept them stranded in Queens.

Terminal 4 was filled with would-be passengers from Ireland, Germany, England and France as the volcanic cloud continued to wreak havoc on air traffic around the world.

Honeymooners Paul and Tracy Sheehan, of Kent, England, were among those trapped by the ashy atmosphere.

The couple arrived to catch a transfer flight on Friday night - only to hear the next available American Airlines flight home was one week away.

"It's been a nightmare," said Tracy, 30, after spending the night inside an airport Starbucks. "We both need to be back to work. ... One minute I feel it's all really bizarre, then I feel really stressed."

Ellen Gallagher, 58, of Dublin, spent her night on the terminal floor after missing out on one of the 250 cots with matching blue blankets.

She, her husband and their son had their Friday night connecting flight canceled. The earliest they can catch a flight to Ireland: Thursday, according to Delta Airlines officials.

"It's ridiculous," she said. "They're trying to cater to everyone, but it's hard. ... They didn't offer us anywhere to stay - they said the city's full.

"We don't know what we're going to do."

Scientists in Iceland said Saturday there was no imminent respite to the volcanic explosions responsible for the growing cloud.

"The activity has been quite vigorous overnight, causing the eruption column to grow," geologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told The Associated Press.

"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight."

The enormous cloud of ash and grit - which poses a catastrophic threat to plane engines - still hovered over much of Western Europe and stranded travelers across the globe.

[Donna]

  WOW!! Volcano

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2YGJppt8jo  This just posted. Volcano from NASA

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/icelands_disruptive_volcano.html Some great pics of the volcano from the Boston Globe

[valhalla]

I suspect the ice melt is in the immediate area/zone of the volcano.  Remember that Iceland is loaded with hot springs and spas because of the volcanic activey that is there all the time.  My friend Bob spent a lot of time in Iceland when he was in the Navy (he's from Georgia) and Iceland is beautiful because of the hot springs and volcanos.  Oh!  When in Iceland and dining with the locals, ask what you are being offered before taking a big plate of .....

Whale Blubber!!  Bob still gets a strange look on his face, but his mama raised him right and he ate it all!