[Cobbles]

I guess everybody has heard by now about the volcanic eruption on Iceland and its impact on flight traffic in Europe. Apparently, no one knows how long this eruption might last. It's not inconceivable it'll last for about one year (although it doesn't say at which intensity).

If that's the case, will air traffic be grounded for that long? How long do these ash particles stay in the atmosphere anyway? Is it possible they fly around the world in a few days and hit the US? What if the eruption lasts? Will the atmosphere become saturated with ash eventually? And if so, how long until it's all gone again and planes are allowed to fly?

Finally, I read that there's a second, larger volcano (Katla) which might erupt as a consequence of Eyjafjallajökull erupting. That would presumably make matters worse.

PS I found out that Eyjafjallajökull means literally island mountain glacier. Who would have guessed? Well, maybe you would have, considering there is actually a glacier on top of this mountain, which is near some islands. Oh well. I feel both smart and stupid now.

[Jusentantaka]

Well, in answer to the one bit: there's just about no chance this will come to the US. And the ash itself will only hang out until some rain comes to drive it down (which will be in a couple days unless the storm over the US northeast dies before it gets there)

Though if the second volcano erupts and causes even more ash and stuff, it could last longer. But it still (probably) won't be the sort of fuck the world up event Mount Tambora was 200 years ago, with the volcanic winter, sulfur haze and global temperature drop of .5C. Its going to suck to be in Iceland this year, and the water will be loaded up with flouride.. But as soon as some weather changes come over europe, the air problems will be mostly gone. Probably.

[Morgoth]

That second volcano though is massive. If that erupts fully -which supposedly it does about 3 out of 4 times (or something like that) following an eruption by Eyjafjallajökull- thing will get heated. Katla is massive, and its destructive potential is supposedly terrifying.

[Jusentantaka]

any linkies on how big it actually is? the wiki page is vague shit on it and I couldn't find anything about Katla's history from sciencey type pages, other than 'mmm... big boom...'

[MTS]

Ok seriously, how do you pronounce that? My head is hurting just looking at it. The closest I'm getting is Ejafalafel.

Are these ash clouds drifting over to mainland Europe? Damn!

[Morgoth]

http://www.earthice..../page/ies_katla -> Gives a pretty good overview, especially with the other links there.

Quote

Katla is among the most frequently erupting volcanoes in Iceland, averaging about two eruptions each century. The volcanic massive is partly covered by the glacier Mýrdalsjökull which fills a caldera depression and covers the eruptive vents. In spite of the basaltic composition of the products (transalcalic FeTi basalts) the eruptions are explosive due to the subaquatic mode of extrusion. The eruptions are accompanied by enormous laharic floods which have formed a vast sandur plain which are widely distributed in Holocene while ocean sediments and ash particles in the Greenland ice core indicate strong activity over much longer time periods. A remarkable feature of this volcanism is the uniform composition of its products with time.

The last eruption in Katla occurred in 1918. The Southern coast was extended by 5 km by the laharic flood deposits. The present volcanic respose is among the longest known in historic times, but monitoring of ground deformation and seismicity does not reveal any signs of reawakening. Seismic unrest does occur from time to time and a precautionary measure the traffic across the sandur plain is then halted on both sides of the plain.

[Morgoth]

MTS, on 16 April 2010 - 04:20 PM, said:

Ok seriously, how do you pronounce that? My head is hurting just looking at it. The closest I'm getting is Ejafalafel.

Are these ash clouds drifting over to mainland Europe? Damn!

They assume that the ash cloud will remain over northern and western Europe at least until Tuesday. There are tentative hopes that some air traffic can resume on Monday, but its hard to tell yet.

Additionally, though it's hope it will only last for a few weeks, the eruption can go on for more than a year.

[Vengeance]

Here is an informative link for those of you who live in Europe.

Economist

[D'rek]

The shape of the ash cloud is weird to me, I would've thought that it would spread a bit more evenly than this:



They've also got an "ash forecast" over at -> London Met Office

[MTS]

HO.LY CRAP! That's a lotta ash. And it's gonna hit Hungary! My lord. Airlines must be taking quite a hit. Hopefully air traffic can resume soon.

This post has been edited by MTS: 16 April 2010 - 05:32 PM

[Avatar]

Ow shit, in 8 days i'm flying to Egypt... I really hope the ash is gone by then!

[RodeoRanch]

I would have been sadly irritated if my flight in or out of Britain had been delayed by a volcano. Though it is a pretty cool excuse for missing a flight.

[Abyss]

I, for one, WELCOME our new ash spewing volcanic island mountain glacier overlord and remind him that as a much loved internet personality i can be useful in locating sacrificial virgins and/or pizza to throw in their lava lit smokey maw.

[McLovin]

Morgoth, on 16 April 2010 - 04:26 PM, said:

Additionally, though it's hope it will only last for a few weeks, the eruption can go on for more than a year.

Funny, my doctor told me if the eruption lasted more than 4 hours to seek medical attention.

[Aptorian]

D, on 16 April 2010 - 05:27 PM, said:

The shape of the ash cloud is weird to me, I would've thought that it would spread a bit more evenly than this:



They've also got an "ash forecast" over at -> London Met Office

The reason to why it's spreading like that I assume is because of various pressure zones. I wonder if the wind in combination with the mountain ranges are causing those "walls" seemingly blocking the spread. I don't assume it's actually reached so high that the jetstreams are playing with it?

What is interesting about the way the ash is travelling is that researchers are using it to predict a hypothetical future "Chernobyl". By studying the cloud and its migration they are learning more about how a radioactive cloud might behave and as such how they can prepare and what precautions to take.

Am I the only one who is absolutly fascinated by this? As scary as the "winter fallout" might be, still to be alive to witness and experience a time where a huge volcano goes "Boom" is pretty cool. I'm probably skewed from having read too much about Plinius the Youngers detailed account of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 16 April 2010 - 07:48 PM

[Abyss]

Aptorian, on 16 April 2010 - 07:41 PM, said:

D, on 16 April 2010 - 05:27 PM, said:

The shape of the ash cloud is weird to me, I would've thought that it would spread a bit more evenly than this:



They've also got an "ash forecast" over at -> London Met Office

The reason to why it's spreading like that I assume is because of various pressure zones...

Fools! FOOLS!!! Look at the shape of it. Look closely. Can't you SEE??? Can no one else see what's happening here? We had it wrong the whole time but how were we supposed to know He slept in a volcano in frikkin Iceland of all places. We all assumed tentacles and dreams and slimy shit... no one ever thought it could be this way but the conclusion is as obvious as it is horrifying. CTHULU HAS AWAKENED.

- Abyss, off to the Welcome The Many Angled Ones celebratory parade and cheerleader sacrifice.

[Illuyankas]

First the banks, now this? Iceland is an ashhole.

[Terez]

@Apt - Pinatubo, 1991. You're not that young are you?

This post has been edited by Terez: 16 April 2010 - 07:56 PM

[Jusentantaka]

Aptorian, on 16 April 2010 - 07:41 PM, said:

Am I the only one who is absolutly fascinated by this? As scary as the "winter fallout" might be, still to be alive to witness and experience a time where a huge volcano goes "Boom" is pretty cool. I'm probably skewed from having read too much about Plinius the Youngers detailed account of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

I'll give you a pass on the ones in the 80s cause you are probably too young, but the one in the Philippines in '91 was ALL OVER the tv... how'd you miss it?

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

damn me typing more words!

This post has been edited by Jusentantaka: 16 April 2010 - 07:59 PM

[Illuyankas]

So apparently it's James May's fault, according to this Icelandic news website. Honestly? I can see it.