Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Closes Down Main UK Airports

Ash cloud grounds at least 1,000 flights

Large Plume of Volcanic Ash Forces Closure of Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, Britain’s busiest

Volcanic ash cloud is now drifting further south, threatening more chaos in the UK and European flights paths.

A no-fly zone has been imposed for at least a six-hour period between 01:00 BST and 07:00 BST (24:00 to 6:00UTC) by the UK Civil Aviation Authority shutting down Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports.

There are currently no flights in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Issued graphics

Photos, charts, maps and all other images issued by the European governments may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair USE Notice. Click image to enlarge.

Eruption Update – 16 May 2010 19:15UTC

The eruption plume is reaching a maximum height of  about 9 km (30,000 ft), about 15 percent higher than yesterday.  The ash cloud is currently drifting in a southeast to east-southeasterly direction, Icelandic Met Office (IMO) said.

Ash fall was detected southeast of Eyjafjallajökull.

For other details of eruption see status report.

A view of Eyjafjallajökull Eruption from Thórólfsfelli Webcam

Earthquakes

At least 3 earthquakes measuring 5.1 to 5.4Mw have occurred in the Norwegian Sea about 590km to the northeast of Jan Mayen volcano which sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean , which also runs through Iceland.

The section of the ridge that includes  Iceland is called Reykjanes Ridge.

Fire-Earth is currently working on an update for its earlier statistical forecast of volcanic eruptions in and around Iceland.

Original Caption:  Map showing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge splitting Iceland and separating the North American and Eurasian Plates. The map also shows Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, the Thingvellir area, and the locations of some of Iceland’s active volcanoes (red triangles), including Krafla. Source: USGS.

Original Caption: Aerial view of the area around Thingvellir, Iceland, showing a fissure zone (in shadow) that is an on-land exposure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Right of the fissure, the North American Plate is pulling westward away from the Eurasian Plate (left of fissure). This photograph encompasses the historical tourist area of Thingvellir, the site of Iceland’s first parliament, called the Althing, founded around the year A.D. 930. Large building (upper center) is a hotel for visitors. (Photograph by Oddur Sigurdsson, National Energy Authority, Iceland. Source: USGS.

Related Links:

• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Gradually Intensifying
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – MISR Satellite Image
• Eyjafjallajökull Volcano: Unending Eruption
• 2010 Year of Super Volcanoes?
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Links Page [This page contains a comprehensive index of links to resources on Eyjafjallajökull including additional satellite images.]
• Eyjafjallajökull Eruption rendering by Sean Stiegemeier

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