Recent Icelandic Volcanic Eruption Shuts down UK Airspace

[EconomyClass]

The Weather Channel is running this as its latest thing to cover continuously. One screen said volcanic ash can be emitted up to 55,000 feet. Guess that makes it the same sort of thing as the storm systems in ITCZ, namely, something you go around, never through.

[SYDCBRWOD]

The Weather Channel is running this as its latest thing to cover continuously. One screen said volcanic ash can be emitted up to 55,000 feet. Guess that makes it the same sort of thing as the storm systems in ITCZ, namely, something you go around, never through.

So, question is, can this ash be tracked on radar or is this only likely to be visible on sat photo's?

[seahawk]

Too bad, that we had easterly winds yeasterday. So I missed all the KLM diversions to DUS.

[DAIRD]

Weather radar can't detect it, because volcanic ash contents no moisture or water, which can reflect the radiowaves.

[EconomyClass]

So, question is, can this ash be tracked on radar or is this only likely to be visible on sat photo's?

Hope the weather satellites are tracking it. The chart they showed on BBC news was pretty straight from Iceland to UK, but then it seems like some northerly winds kicking in cause the cloud to spread out as it headed for the mainland.

Question right now is: WHEN does the eruption stop? This isn't like the huge explosion at Mt. St. Helens. This is like a continuous belching up of magma, running into glacier, creating glass shards, becoming then ginormous clouds pushed off to the east. Mile after nautical mile, an unbroken cloud crossing the Atlantic. No telling if something will stop it. I don't think the Urals are enough. Could well end up as a belt around the planet. At least in the Northern Hemisphere.

[Jason]

Update:

most of the german airspace is closed, EDDS is partly open and EDDM is (still) open, too.
Since no insurance pays for such an act of god, this might be very costly for Lufthansa.

[EconomyClass]

Here's a satellite photo of the ash cloud:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415110042.htm

The article says the altitude is 11 km. That is right around where airliners cruise. Doesn't seem to have much width. But as been said, if its shrouding UK (and points east). The problem is takeoff and landing. Neither one is safe enough. Its not a good thing to ground all this traffic. I think it was a factor in the first Bush recession.

Weather Channel showed a satellite loop. The thing looks a bit like a hammerhead shark now, with a north-south head extending from Spain to the Baltic. And there's even now a curl across Eastern Europe down the Black Sea toward the Balkans. Planes in the sky over Europe could become quite rare. The tourism season's getting off to a horrible start. What a nice followup to the already-existing continental recession. Never rains but it pours...............ash.

[mawheatley]

Since no insurance pays for such an act of god, this might be very costly for Lufthansa.

This could be devastating for BA. The last time this erupted was 200yrs ago, but the eruption lasted for two years! NYC/LON is the busiest transatlantic corridor - this has the potential literally to change the industry as we know it.

[Evan]

I was sitting by the window having breakfast this morning, where I always see the distant planes on final approach to Tegel pass silently behind the church tower. I'm always amazed at how they intersect the tower at exactly the same place, locked onto the glideslope. But today, nothing, just hazy blue skies and harmless white clouds. I'm taken by an eerie recollection of Sept 11th.

And then... I heard the drone of an airplane overhead, saw the shadow streak across the trees, and sure enough, it was the gleaming DC-3 (C-47?) doing it's rounds from Templehoff. You just can't ground the mighty raisin bomber. Today it rules the skies once again! I can imagine how wonderful the sound of rotary pistons must have been to Berliners back in 1948.

I wonder if I can book it to New York?

[Deadstick]

Much of Poland is now shut down, presenting problems for numerous dignitaries trying to attend the services for the many lost Poles.

I'm now very concerned about my own plans for JFK-PRG 11 May.

[EconomyClass]

2 years! Now, that's a disaster for the books. I wonder if this will trigger some development in the jet plane to make it safe to fly. No way can I imagine the whole world's jet fleet on the ground for that long. In fact, that could be a trigger for global depression.

[sjwk]

The animation on the ESA page that shows the movement of the ash highlights the areas that are shut down and makes interesting viewing: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMKDU9MT7G_index_0.html

Fortunately it looks (from the animation at any rate) as though the volcano isn't chucking out any more, and it's being blown south away from the UK, but still most of northern France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Finland are affected. They reckon Scotland and Northern Ireland might start flights again this evening, hopefully the rest of the UK tomorrow. It's been nice clear blue skies here most of the day!

The news here yesterday was saying that the ash was caused by the volcano being under the ice, and the resulting cold water caused the lava to shatter and the pieces swept up with the smoke? Perhaps now the ice around has melted, the volcano has resumed normal service.

I'm flying to Portugal in a couple of weeks so hopefully everything back to normal by then, but the biggest thing will be dealing with the backlog and getting the planes back to where they're supposed to be...

[Cargo Runner]

BAWC is running some freighters into Lyon, ex US and trucking the freight into London. Trucking will take about 30 hours and a lot of trucks so I guess BA know it would be easier to do that then run into LON, maybe they will trun the planes around and ferry back to the States in the hope the next flight can fly straight in.

[HalcyonDays]

BAWC is running some freighters into Lyon, ex US and trucking the freight into London. Trucking will take about 30 hours and a lot of trucks so I guess BA know it would be easier to do that then run into LON, maybe they will trun the planes around and ferry back to the States in the hope the next flight can fly straight in.

Why don't they fly them to Glasgow or Prestwick given that they are running a few ex-North America passenger flights into those places overnight tonight ?

[EconomyClass]

Perhaps now the ice around has melted, the volcano has resumed normal service.

Yeh, whatever "normal" has been for the last 200 years. Funny part is I was sure they had eruptions and lava flows regularly, just like Hawaii. Yet, I really don't recall an aviation crisis in my life time.

Brings me to another question. If the ash is flying at 11km. Why does it close airports. Planes aren't at that altitude in an airport approach are they?

Or is the ash precipitating out of the sky. A lot of that happened east of Mt St Helens. News reports of roads buried under an ash layer.