Eyjafjallajoekull changing the European landscape

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Four days since the primary eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano and the paralysis of European airspace continues. No doubt the economy will soon follow - mother nature kicking back at last! One advantage is the spectacular sunsets from particulates in the ash cloud - perhaps a taste of what might follow if the big neighbour Katla erupts as a consequence of the increased seismic activity....

 

...and just in case you missed the radar photo of the Eyjafjallajoekull crater......

 

Mark,

I have tickets to the Barcelona game next Sunday, and it could well be that my flight on Saturday is cancelled. So as far as I'm concerned screw the sunsets

Awesome pics though

Ian

 

I think these pictures are great and having been one of those stranded passengers feel that Ian should have at least looked at alternative travel by now! It took us 36 hours to get back from Belfast so allow plenty of time!

 

Hey nads. Nice to see you here.

Amazing pictures as always Mark. Yours I presume. You have an amazing talent for that you know.

Tough break ian.

 

Hi Mark :drinks.

Are you implying that human activity or global warming are in some way responsible for these recent events?

Or, just that we deserve all we get?

Have a safe & happy day all.

 

Nope - just that we've lived through a time of fairly quiet volcanic activity but recent seismic events - I think 9 sizeable earthquakes since November and now the Icelandic eruptions - might herald a new cycle of activity that will certainly impact on our way of life. Five days since the eruption started and the airlines are already asking for the no-fly ban to be reviewed. Would you want to fly - even if it were relaxed?

 

Hi Mark,

Erm.............

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_ash#Aviation

That would be a no.

I am booked to go to Gozo in May. Happy to stay at home in the garden if advised by the airway of any risk from the ash cloud.

Scared of flying anyway

Kind regards,

Mandy.

 

I read in the Times that melting polar icecaps and increased volcanic activity are directly related.

So yes this is a climate change phenomenon. Ironically it stops air-travel - one of the worst sources of CO2!

 

Rome Airport was closed to air traffic yesterday, but my flight from the US to Rome isn't until this Saturday for my vacation/lecture in Rome. Today, I think flights are being allowed. Certainly adds a little bit to the stress of travel wondering if the jet engines will clog at 30,000 feet.

 

The problem is the silica particulates which form the ash cloud. When ingested into jet engines and super-heated and compressed, they return to their molten state and stick to the fans and casing causing the engines to overheat and shut down. Not that I'm an expert but just had one of the BAE Systems Typhoon engineers in for surgery this morning and they noted particulate deposits on one of their supersonic test flight Typhoons which flew on Saturday!

Think I would be acquiring a parachute on eBay just in case.....

 

Sounds to me that there has only been one case in the last 30 years where a jet engine has shut down due to flying through "volcanic ash". My estimation is that the affected governments are over-reacting due to worry about lawsuits if an accident occurs since all the test flights done over the past few days have produced no damage to the aircraft or their engines. Air flight will never be 100% safe.....that is a given. The question the governments and airlines need to answer is how much airborn particulate matter is acceptably safe. Too much more disruption of the European economy could have quite disastrous effects for many people economically. Tough issues lie ahead for all those involved. Glad I don't live in Iceland!!

If my plane falls out of the sky into or out of Rome in the coming weeks, Mark, then I'll will you my 20,000+ CPD points.

 

The above comment from Mr Kirby has kept me amused all day whilst coping without receptionist - stuck in Tenerife.

As far as I am aware there has been two incidents of all four jet engines shutting down after flying through volcanic ash. How many more similar incidents would it take to convince you that there is a risk and it isn't just potential lawsuits that have grounded aircraft?

"Just grateful we are home, safe and comfortable".

This has been the sentiment from patients this last 5 days who have had flights and holidays cancelled. They have a choice to go and do something in the beautiful British Isles instead. Whilst it isn't the end of the world for those forced to wait out the ash cloud, they may be frustrated but they too are safe.

Me? I'm feeling rather smug that I'd already decided to spend my Spring holiday in about 3 weeks time listening to the Nightingales sing their hearts out in a gorgeous corner of East Anglia!!!

Hope you get your flight Kevin, things are looking up towards the end of the week.

GB

 

The ripple effect will be felt for a while.

One of my colleges has a guy out from England as part of equipment installation.

He was meant to leave Australia on the 20th of this month, his flight has been pushed back to the 8th of next month.:empathy: ouch!

Extra accommodation costs and the next clients not serviced, not to mention any personal issues with been here any longer than planned.

l wonder how long it will take to clear the back log once the okay is given to fly again

 

George:

Any time one steps into either an airplane or into an automobile, they are taking the chance of accident, misfortune or death. I am one that feels just as safe in an airplane as in an automobile and have had many more close calls with serious injury while driving than while flying.

FCO (Rome International) has now opened up now for the last few days and things look better for my wife and I making our planned vacation/lecture in Rome and vacation in Venice for two weeks without much of a problem. This is a a relief for us especially since we have been planning this trip since June 2009.

However, in regards to striking solid structures while in flight, I think I would rather the jet engines digested a few thousand particles of volcanic ash than one seagull.

 

Hi George,

You would have enjoyed the discussion on Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 yesterday lunchtime.

Chap rang in saying how if jet engines could be affected by volcanic ash then so can other engines. Cars, lorries & trains. He was ranting that there can't have been such a great risk as the trains weren't prevented from running so surely there was no reason for planes to be grounded!

Ever seen a train fall out of the sky?

Sounds lovely.

Regards,

Mandy.

 

It is unusal for seagulls to fly at 30,000 feet but not so for migrating geese. Agreed birdstrike can be catastrophic but rather like volcanic ash, risk can be assessed and avoidance action taken thanks to scientfic study and research. But accidents do happen.

Good luck with your travels and remember the green cross code every time you cross that road....

GB

 

Is it too early for Icelandic volcano jokes, or should we wait for the dust to settle?

 

The Americans have declared war on Iceland. They're accusing them of having a weapon of ash eruption.

I heard it was the dying wish of the Icelandic economy that its ashes be spread across Europe.

First Iceland goes bankrupt, then it sets itself on fire. That's an insurance scam!

"Waiter, there's volcanic ash in my soup."
"Yes I know. It's a no-fly zone."

Sorry for the flight delays, Europe. We were aiming for London, but it's hard to be accurate when firing a volcano

No, no, no Iceland. We said send us all your cash

Your mum’s so fat when she got cremated they had to ban all planes from flying over europe

The Kyoto Accord requires that Iceland send every penny that they will earn for the next two generations to Botswana to offset their carbon emissions

According to the Mayan calendar the volcano will stop when half of Europe say its name right

Flippin' Icelanders you don't hear from them in years and all of a sudden twice in the same century

You mess with Iceland? We shut down all your airports

Welcome to Iceland. We’re currently doing a bit of construction - please pardon the dust.

Whenever a cat walks across a keyboard, an Icelandic volcano gets a name.

There’s no volcano in Iceland. Chuck Norris is just having a barbecue.

Eyjafjallajökull - named when the person writing about it fell asleep on his keyboard.

Eyjafjallajökull is erupting only twice a year — April through September, and October through March.

Ash cloud disrupting Norway and Iceland fish exports. Higher menu prices. Good smoky flavor, though.

How do you pronounce Eyjafjallajökull? I believe it’s called “The volcano in Iceland.”

Four short, barefoot young men were last seen setting off for Eyjafjallajökull. The nature of their journey is not yet known.

Richard Curtis is working on a new rom-com about people stuck in an airport who fall in love. The working title is "Lava Actually".

I came out my house yesterday and was hit on the head by a bag of frozen sausages, a chocolate gateau and some fish fingers. I realised it must be the fallout from Iceland.

Volcano in Iceland. What next Earthquake in Asda?

Woke this morning to find every surface in the house covered in a layer of dust and a foul stench of sulphur in the air. No change, I’ve been married to that bone-idle slob for 20 years.

 

There are a fascinating collection of photographs of the volcano in the Boston Globe - at this link. This is just one of them.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

 

Do geese actually cruise at 30,000 feet on their migration flights?

 

Google bar headed geese.

Nocturnal migrating birds have been monitered at flying at altitudes of 20,000 feet and above.

So Kevin has reason to be concerned about birdstrike but hopefully he is in Rome by now and having a mightily fine time.

http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/Avian-migration-altitudes.html

GB

 

George:

Actually, I'm still seeing my last day's worth of patients currently here on Friday PM in Sacramento. Will leave for Rome on Saturday AM to lecture as one of the main speakers at a conference for orthopaedic surgeons in Rome. I am lecturing for about 11 hours over the last two days of the conference along with didactic lectures, gait workshops, and orthosis modification workshops. These Italian orthopedic surgeons seem very interested in my Subtalar Joint Axis Location and Rotational Equilibrium (SALRE) Theory and its effects on the decision-making process for foot orthosis therapy. I'll keep you all posted and hope to get a good photo in front of the Coliseum to add to the other collection of Coliseum photos here on Podiatry Arena. It's our first trip to Italy and my lovely wife and I are greatly looking forward to the vacation.

By the way, in goose language, the proper word is "jetstrike" not "birdstrike".

 

I'd have thought it would be "HONK"

 

What do you think the last thing that goes through it´s mind when it hits the plane?


It´s fun being 12 years old again even for a minute, for those who can´t rememeber the joke or never heard it the answer is it´s ass

 

Stranded Chiswick chiropodist thanks taxi driver who helped her get home

Full story

 

Depends. African or European?

 

ah vulture: My favourite birdy

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060612134443AA0769I

However, as the song goes..................

I seen a house fly.
I seen a horse fly.................................... igs: