Posts Tagged ‘Eyjafjallajökull eruption’
Posted by feww on July 9, 2011
Melting of Katla’s ice cap is causing flooding near the volcano: Iceland Civil Protection Agency
Flooding may have been caused either by a small eruption, or geothermal heat emitted from the volcano, the authorities said.
Katla is one of Iceland’s largest and most active volcanoes. Located east of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, near the southern end of Iceland’s eastern volcanic zone, Katla is buried beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap. Its peak reaches 1,512 meters.
Map of Iceland’s Recent Earthquakes
Source: Icelandic Met Office. Image may be subject to copyright.
Katla’s last significant eruption occurred in 1928. The volcano is credited with sixteen major eruptions between 930 and 1918 occurring at intervals of 40–80 years.
Katla volcano, located near the southern end of Iceland’s eastern volcanic zone, is mostly hidden beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap, which extends across the top of the photo. Valley glaciers descend from the summit icecap toward the coastal plain in this aerial view from the SSW. Explosive eruptions from Katla, among the largest tephra-producers in Iceland during historical time, have frequently been accompanied by damaging jökulhlaups, or glacier-outburst floods. Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1985 (Icelandic National Energy Authority). Caption by GVP.
Iceland Volcanoes – Activity Forecast
FIRE-EARTH will await further development before updating the following forecast, if needed.
Probability of Volcanic Activity in Iceland
Simulations of FIRE-EARTH Geophysical Model (EarthModel) show that a major volcanic eruption may occur in Iceland by October 2011 with a certainty of 0.7 [P= 72%]
Iceland’s Volcanic Eruptions since 1902
- 2011 Grímsvötn
- 2010 Eyjafjallajökull
- 2004 Grímsvötn
- 2000 Hekla
- 1998 Grímsvötn
- 1996 Gjálp
- 1991 Hekla
- 1984 Krafla
- 1983 Grímsvötn
- 1981 Krafla 2 eruptions
- 1981 Hekla
- 1980 Hekla
- 1980 Krafla 3 eruptions
- 1977 Krafla 2 eruptions
- 1975 Krafla
- 1973 subaquatic eruption 5 km south of Landeyjar coast
- 1973 Heimaey
- 1970 Hekla
- 1963-1967 Surtsey
- 1961 Askja
- 1947 Hekla
- 1938 Grímsvötn
- 1934 Grímsvötn
- 1933 Grímsvötn
- 1929 Askja
- 1927 Askja
- 1926 northeast of Eldey
- 1924 Askja
- 1923 Askja
- 1922 Askja 2 eruptions
- 1922 Grímsvötn
- 1921 Askja
- 1918 Katla
- 1913 Austan Heklu
- 1910 Þórðarhyrna
- 1903 Þórðarhyrna
- 1902 Grímsvötn
List of Iceland’s volcanic eruptions since 1902 sourced from Icelandic Met Office Website.
Recent Volcanic Activity [Source: GVP]
29 June-5 July 2011
New Activity/Unrest:
Ongoing Activity:
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Posted in iceland volcanoes | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, jökulhlaups, Katla volcano | 1 Comment »
Posted by feww on May 19, 2010
Eruption rate believed to be 200 tons per second: IMO
The average height of the volcanic plume is about 7 km (21,000 ft), according to radar observations, with the gray plume drifting northeast.
At least 70 flashes of lightning struck in a 12 hour period with a maximum of 10 flashes per hour, IMO reported.
An ongoing powerful explosive eruption at the current plume height suggests that the eruption rate is at least 200 tons per second, IMO said.
For more details see status report.
This natural-color satellite image was acquired by MODIS aboard NASA’s Terra satellite on May 18, 2010 at 12:20 p.m. local time. The pale gray ash plume blows from the summit of Eyjafjallajökull almost directly northwest. Eurocontrol said the airspace over Europe was open, and ash was unlikely to affect flights until May 20, 2010. Image and [edited] caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG). Click image to enlarge.
MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Eyjafjallajökull and acquired this natural-color image on May 17, 2010. Image and [edited] caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG). Click image to enlarge.
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Posted in environment, iceland ash cloud, Icelandic ash cloud, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull eruption MODIS image, Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Satellite Image | 1 Comment »
Posted by feww on May 18, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Plume Still Bursting to 9km (27,000 ft)
Volcano Status Report by IMO – 17 May 2010 18:05
The plume from Eyjafjallajökull eruption is reaching a height of about 7 km a.s.l, Icelandic weather radar shows, with bursts of about 9 km (27,000 ft). Increasing wind speed is forcing down the easterly drifting plume which has now turned dark-gray, IMO said.
[Note: The new development may mean an increase in the amount of tephra that is being ejected. ]
Lightning reported at the crater summit striking at a rate of about 10 flashes per hour.
The activity is explosive, but somewhat less violent than May 13 scenario. Considerable ashfall has been reported at the adjacent areas and is expected to continue. The force of activity is expected fluctuate in the foreseeable future.
More details available in the status report.
Satellite image (SEVIRI BTD) showing ash ejected from Eyjafjallajökull, click to animate. Origin and technique described under May 7, entry. Click image to enlarge.
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Posted in environment, Iceland volcano, Icelandic ash cloud | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Satellite Animation, Iceland ashfall | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 17, 2010
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.
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Posted in environment, Jan Mayen volcano, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Reykjanes Ridge, tectonic plate boundary | Tagged: Ash cloud, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, UK airport closure, UK Airspace | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 16, 2010
Eruption Turning Darker, Plume Height Increasing
According to the latest assessment released by the Icelandic Met Office (IMO), the volcanic plume from Eyjafjallajökull is gray, occasionally reaching a height of 8km (27,000 feet) a.s.l. and drifting in a southerly direction.
IMO reported ashfall south of Eyjafjallajökull glacier and ash drift moving to southeast of the volcano.
Snapshot of earthquake activity at Eyjafjallajökull glacier. Click image to update. Source: IMO. Photos, charts, maps and all other images issued by the European governments may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair USE Notice.
A swarm of at least 30 volcanic earthquakes occurred beneath Eyjafjallajökull in a 3-hour period starting at 23:54 (UTC) striking at a depth of about 20km, with the average magnitude of less than 2.0Mw. The swarm was followed by more sporadic tremors in the morning.
“No major changes are seen in the activity, the ash cloud is slightly higher than yesterday. Presently there are no indications that the eruption is about to end.” IMO said. For additional details, see status report.
British Airspace Closure
British airspace may have to close partially from Sunday at least until Tuesday to avoid the risk of volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajökull eruption which is drifting south from Iceland, the UK Department for Transport said.
The closure may include Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest, the authorities said.
“Due to continuing volcanic activity in Iceland and prevailing weather conditions, there is — if the volcano continues to erupt at current levels — a risk of UK airspace closures,” the government said.
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.
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Posted in environment | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Heathrow airport, UK airport closure, volcanic activity in Iceland | 4 Comments »
Posted by feww on May 15, 2010
Images of the 2nd Round of Eruption at Eyjafjallajökull Volcano
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano produced its second major ash plume of 2010 on May 7. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite collected data on ash height when it passed just east of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano mid-morning on May 7.
MISR has nine different cameras, each viewing the scene below from a difference angle nearly simultaneously. By combining all these images using a hyper-stereo technique, scientists can calculate the height of the ash plume.
The above image is a natural-color, nadir (downwards-looking) view of the scene. The top image is the stereo-derived plume height. Each pixel in the image shows an area 1.1 kilometers (0.68 miles) wide. The vertical accuracy is about 0.5km.
Much of the plume resides between 4 and 6 kilometers above the ocean surface (orange and red color in the right image), but the ash descends to near 3 kilometers yellow-green) far downwind. Images and caption: NASA/MISR [edited for brevity.]
Status Report – 15 May 2010 (3:55UTC)
The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) reported plume reaching a height of about 7 km (24,000 ft) drifting in a southwesterly direction. Ashfall was detected in the capital Reykjavík.
At least 50 lightning strikes were recorded during the previous 24 hours. No major changes in the activity were reported. There’s no sign the eruption could end anytime soon.
For details of status report by IMO and others click here.
LATEST NEWS FROM ICELAND:
Volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull eruption has forced the authorities to shut down the intentional airport at Reykjavík, the country’s main airport, authorities say.
UK Airspace
Parts of the UK’s airspace may close on Sunday as volcanic ash clouds continue to drift south of Iceland, the UK Department for Transport said, BBC reported.
Last week, about a dozen airports in southern Europe were forced to close and many flights were re-routed to avoid the risk from the Icelandic ash clouds.
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Posted in iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano, Icelandic ash cloud, volcanic acthazard, volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull Eruption MISR Satellite Image, Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Satellite Image, Reykjavík airport | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 13, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Following Chaitén Scenario?
Eyjafjallajökull eruption continues unabated, Icelandic Met Office (IMO) said. The ash plume reduced slightly and changed direction heading ESE.
The ash cloud has wreaked havoc in parts of southern Europe, disrupting flights in as far south as Portugal, Spain and Morocco in recent days, according to media reports.
Reaching a height of four to 5 kilometers (13,000-17,000 feet), the plume of ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano rises above a sea of clouds in this image. MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the image on May 12, 2010. Source: NASA E/O [Caption edited for brevity.] Download large image (1003 KB, JPEG). Click image to enlarge.
The above photo was taken by Ólafur Sigurjónsson on May 7 at 21:00 local time. Image published by IMO. Read full story here. Click image to enlarge.
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Posted in environment, iceland volcanoes, Icelandic ash cloud, volcanic ash, volcanic hazard | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull eruption photos, Eyjafjallajökull eruption satellite photos, Eyjafjallajökull volcano | 2 Comments »
Posted by feww on May 12, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano: NO Immediate Plan to Cease Activity
Eyjafjallajökull continues to erupt with no major changes detected in its activity. There is no sign that the volcano could cease activity any time soon: IMO
The Plume is currently reaching a maximum height of about 6,000m (20,000) a.s.l., IMO report said.
This natural-color image of the ongoing eruption was acquired by MODIS aboard NASA’s Terra satellite at 12:15 p.m. local time. Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano continues to erupt a thick plume of ash. On May 11, 2010, the ash was streaming almost directly south, visibly extending at least 860 kilometers (530 miles) from Eyjafjallajökull. The ash clouds forced the closure of some Spanish and Moroccan airports. Image and Caption: NASA [Edited for brevity.] Click image to enlarge. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG)
Eyjafjallajökull and Gígjökull. Dated 11 May 2010at 10:58 today. Photo Credit: Sigurlaug Hjaltadóttir. Image release by Iceland Met Office (IMO). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London Met Office – Issued graphics
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Posted in environment, Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud, Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Icelandic ash cloud, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull Eruption UPDATE, Eyjafjallajökull MODIS Image, Eyjafjallajökull satellite Image, Gígjökull | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 11, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Continues Unabated
Europe Should Fear the Worst From Icelandic Volcanoes, and Start Large-Scale Contingency Planning: Fire-Earth*
Fire Earth believes there’s more than 80 percent probability of a second, larger Icelandic volcano erupting this year.
About 50 additional volcanic tremors have struck beneath Eyjafjallajökull Glacier volcano in the past 12 hours, IMO automatic chart shows.
Farms south of the eruption site have experienced almost continuous tephra fall over the last 24 hours, Iceland Met Office (IMO) reported.
The plume rising from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano reached up to 6kms (20,000 feet) a.s.l. on May 10, 2010, as MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image. The ash is blowing southeast over the North Atlantic Ocean. Red outlines the location of a hot spot (probably lava) on the summit of the volcano. Farms south of the erupting volcano reported that course ash fell throughout the day. The icecap east of the volcano—Myrdals-jökull—is painted with two black stripes that reveal where the wind blew concentrated plumes of ash in previous days. Image and Caption: NASA E/O. [Caption edited for brevity.]
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Issued graphics
Flight Cancellation/ Airport Closures
- More than a dozen European airports in southern Europe and N Africa were closed.
- Parts of Turkish airspace were restricted
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*We know that you can’t and won’t prepare for the looming disasters, but we are morally obligated to warn you! Fire-Earth
Posted in iceland volcanoes, Icelandic ash cloud | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Myrdals-jökull | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 10, 2010
About 3 dozen quakes strike Eyjafjallajökull Glacier, other quake clusters near Kolbeinsey ridge and Tjörnes fracture zone
Recent IMO Assessment – dated 09 May 2010 at 15:00UTC
The plume mostly reached height of about 4-5 km shooting up to 6 km (20,000 ft) occasionally, and heading southeast despite low level easterly winds.
Deflation continued at Eyjafjallajökull volcano. No indications eruption might end soon.
Eyjafjallajökull view from Hvolsvelli
Eyjafjallajökull view from Thórólfsfelli webcam (Heat Signature)
European Air-Travel
Meanwhile, airtravellers experienced more delays today as more ash clouds drifting from Eyjafjallajökull volcano continued to disrupt some flights. Transatlantic flights faced severe disruption as planes were forced into long detours to avoid the ash cloud, thereby increasing flight times.
The air traffic volume was about 500 below the daily average of 28,500 flights today compared to 1,500 cancellations yesterday.
“We’re all at the mercy of the volcano and there is just no way of knowing how long it will continue to erupt. We would normally be getting south-westerly winds at this time of year and it’s pretty unusual to have northerly winds dominating the weather. It’s very much a day-to-day situation at the moment. The volcano died down a bit for a spell and has now got more active.” A UK Met Office spokeswoman said.
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Posted in environment, iceland volcanoes, Icelandic ash cloud, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Kolbeinsey ridge | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 9, 2010
Dozens of airports closed, hundreds of flights canceled, many more diverted.
Renewed eruption at Eyjafjallajökull caused more volcanic ash to invade European airspace, forcing a new wave of flight cancellations and airport closures in Spain, as well as parts of Ireland Italy, Portugal, Scotland and the England.
At least 28 airports were forced to close from several hours to more than a day, causing hundreds of cancellations, and many flight diversions.
There were also flight cancellation to and from Switzerland, Southern and Central France, Northern Italy and Northern Portugal.
IMO Status Report said the eruption was still in an explosive phase, with the plume reaching a height of about 5km.
Eyjafjallajökull from Hvolsvelli webcam
Eyjafjallajökull eruption seen from Hvolsvelli webcam. Top of the plume is seen emerging and towering above the clouds. Click image to enlarge.
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Issued graphics (UK Met Office)
Click image to enlarge.
Eyjafjallajökull Ash Cloud still drifting toward southern Europe. © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office. Click image to enlarge.
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| Tagged: iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano, MODIS Image of Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Satellite Image of Eyjafjallajökull eruption
Posted in flight cancellation, iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano, volcanic ash | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Eyjafjöll, volcanic ash, volcanic eruption | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 7, 2010
Fire-Earth Forecasts a Large Explosion at Eyjafjallajökull Glacier, Possibly Soon
New Ash Cloud Grounds Flights
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the body responsible for Irish airspace, has imposed flight restrictions at six of Ireland’s airports from 00:00UTC on Friday, citing risks from new volcanic ash cloud.
The flight bans are at Shannon, Donegal, Knock, Galway, Kerry and Sligo airports , which will remain shut until at least 12:00UTC on Friday, May 7, 2010.
The new ash cloud from the ongoing eruption at Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Glacier volcano was penetrating the Irish airspace along the west coast of Ireland, the IAA reported.
“The restrictions are required as the increased level of recent volcanic activity has created a massive ash cloud stretching 1,000 miles long and 700 miles wide,” an IAA spokesperson told reporters.
Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull Volcano began a fresh round of explosive ash eruptions in the first week of May. On the morning of May 6, 2010, MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this view of a thick plume of ash blowing east and then south from the volcano. Ash clouds can have a dramatic influence on air quality and vegetation, including crops. In Iceland, the ash from Eyjafjallajokull has settled thickly on the ground, posing a threat to livestock and wildlife. Image and Caption NASA. [Edited for brevity.] Download large image (880 KB, JPEG)
Recent Status [IMO and Webcams]
- Explosive activity has been increasing since May 4, 2010.
- Ash plume shooting higher, reaching up to 9km (30,000 feet) a.s.l.
- Tephra fallout on the rise.
- “Considerable ashfall at Þykkvabæjarklaustur in Álftaver (at a distance of 65-70 km), (everything has turned black). It has not been established whether the ash cloud south of Eyjafjallajökull is ashfall or ash that has already fallen and is being blown from the ground.” IMO said.
- “Discharge from Gígjökull decreases further and meltwater seems to be running from the eastern side of the glacier. This is different from Tuesday’s meltwater were water was running from the west side. Lava flow might be changing the direction of meltwater flow. Such changes should be taken seriously with regard to possible outbursts due to accumulation of meltwater.”
- Earthquakes occurring at a rate of about 1 per hour (average M2., largest 2.2Mw).
[should start packing your bags if the frequency reaches 3-5 per hour and the magnitude rises above 3.3Mw. FEWW]
- Eruption appears to be ongoing.
- No measurable geophysical changes within the Katla volcano reported.
- System chaos is increasing, rather than decreasing.
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Issued graphics
Click image to enlarge.
Earthquake location 07 May 15:05 GMT [IMO]
© Veðurstofa Íslands. Click image to enlarge.
Freeze Frame Eyjafjallajökull Hvolsvöllur Webcam (15:30UTC). Fire-Earth estimates the plume to be reaching a height of about 7km a.s.l. Click image to enlarge.
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Posted in environment, iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano, Icelandic ash cloud, Satellite Image of Eyjafjallajökull eruption | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Ireland flight ban, MODIS Image of Eyjafjallajökull eruption, volcanic ash cloud | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 6, 2010
Increased seismicity reported at Eyjafjallajökull
More magma pumping from the volcano’s depth GPS-monitoring indicates inflation
ALI on NASA’s EO-1 satellite captured this natural-color image of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano ejecting ash and steam on May 2, 2010. Source: NASA. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG)
Magma Intrusion – 05 May 2010 13:40
Icelandic Met Office (IMO) has detected increased seismic activity beneath Eyjafjallajökull starting Monday 3 May. “Precise locations of the earthquakes show that their source is at first very deep, at about 23 km depth, but then migrates upwards. This strongly indicates that “new” magma is intruding into the magma conduit and pushing on the over-lying magma, causing a difference in pressure at the surface. It is therefore anticipated that the eruption will continue at full force in the next days.”
Plume Height
IMO’s weather radar reported the plume height reaching to a height of about 6.5km a.s.l.
Lava Flow
Lava is flowing in a northerly direction and spreading at 500 m a.s.l., IMO said. “The lava tongue is about 200 m wide and lava channels that join at the tongue are about 30-60 m wide. The lava channels gets wider every day.”
GPS deformatio
IMO reported significant horizontal movement at GPS stations mounted around
Eyjafjallajökull in the last 2 days.
Other details at Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull (PDF file)
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Issued graphics
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Posted in volcanic activity forecast, volcanic ash, volcanic earthquake, volcanic eruption, volcanic hazard | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on May 5, 2010
Iceland’s Volcanoes Could Potentially Cause Collapse of Europe
Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Ash closes Airspace over Ireland and Scotland Once Again
Airspace over Northern Ireland and Scotland will be closed from 07:00 to 13:00GMT (UTC) on Wednesday due to a new cloud of volcanic ash drifting from Eyjafjallajökull Glacier volcano in Iceland, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said.
The ash cloud is expected to move further south, possibly forcing the closure of airspace in the NW England and north Wales today.
“The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating,” CAA website said.
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Latest graphics click image to enlarge
These images are monitoring for the presence of volcanic ash emission in the vicinity of Iceland using infrared data from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. Because cloud particles and volcanic ash particles interact with the infrared radiation in different ways, data at several different wavelengths can be combined to identify the main ash plume, which, when present, would be shown as yellow and orange colours in the images. Note that it is only the thicker parts of the plume that are able to be detected by this method. In addition, the ash plume is often masked by overlying high cloud. Source and Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office.
A Webcam Image of Eyjafjallajökull Eruption saved by Icelandic Review yesterday. The webcams seemed to be out of action today.
One function of webcams is to prevent unnecessary traffic to the site of volcano, which could also be extremely hazardous.
Icelandic Met Office said:
Plume was observed at 5.8-6 km height (19-20,000 ft) estimated from the Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG) flight at 10:40 and 15:30 GMT. It is heading east-south-east to south-east from the eruption site. Plume track clearly visible up to 300-400 km distance from the eruption site on a NOAA satellite image at 13:13 GMT.
On lava flow they reported:
Lava is still flowing northwards, forming a lava fall down the steep hill under Gígjökull, about 4 km north of the crater. Blue gas is seen rising from the lava and white steam plumes are seen somewhat lower and mark the front of the lava stream. The size of the eruptive crater is 280 x 190 m. Lava splashes are thrown at least a few hundred meters into the air.
Status Report: 14:00UTC, 04 May 2010 – IMO and Earth Science Island:
Explosive activity and ash production is strong and has increased since yesterday. Dark ash plume rises above the crater. Lava is still flowing northwards, forming a lava fall down the steep hill under Gígjökull, about 4 km north of the crater. Blue gas is seen rising from the lava and white steam plumes are seen somewhat lower and mark the front of the lava stream. Radar images from ICG-flight today show tunnels in Gígjökull increasing in size and continuing the build up of the cone at the crater. The size of the eruptive crater is 280m x 190m. Lava splashes are thrown at least a few hundred meters into the air.
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Posted in environment, iceland volcanoes, Icelandic ash cloud, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, UK airspace closure, volcanic eruption, volcano | 2 Comments »
Posted by feww on May 4, 2010
New clouds of volcanic ash force Ireland flight ban
Ireland imposes a six-hour flight ban, as a section of British airspace is closed
An intensified wave of seismic activity, which began on May 2, PM, and is still ongoing, the volcano people at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland reported largest plumes of ash reaching a maximum height of about 5.2km height (17,000 ft) a.s.l., as estimated
by the Icelandic Coast Guard during an observation flight at 14:30 local time.
The plume reached a new height of about 5.5km after a major explosion about 30 minutes later. For more details, see Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull
Status Report: 16:00 GMT, 03 May 2010 (PDF file)
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption photo dated 2010.05.02 – Sigrún Hreinsdóttir – 1. Source: IESNVC. Image may be subject to copyright. For older images see link in the corresponding sections. Click image to enlarge.
Volcanic Ash Cloud Over Ireland
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) grounded all flights into and out of Ireland from 06:00 GMT (UTC) to midday on Tuesday as a safety precaution against potential dangers posed by the new volcanic cloud from Iceland.
“Ireland falls within the predicted area of ash concentrations that exceed acceptable engine manufacturer tolerance levels,” IAA statement said.
“The decision is based on the safety risks to crews and passengers as a result of the drift south of the volcanic ash cloud caused by the north easterly winds.”
The statement added that “over-flights of Ireland from the UK and Europe will not be impacted tomorrow. Flights in mainland Europe will operate normally.”
Up to a thousand Irish flights affected
Up to a thousand flights in and out of Dublin airport Shannon and Cork in the south of the country as well as in the smaller regional airports were reportedly affected.
IAA chief Eamon Brennan was reported as saying that winds had already pushed volcanic ash on to Ireland airspace.
“Some of the denser volcanic ash, that’s the no-fly zone, is over the (County) Donegal area (in the northwest) and we are concerned about the northeasterly winds moving this down over the rest of the country,’’ he told RTE state radio.
“At the moment we have a slither of denser ash over the midlands.”
Limited airspace closures in Scotland
Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warned “increased concentrations of volcanic ash in the atmosphere are forecast to cause limited airspace closures in Scotland” on late Monday and Tuesday (local time).
Icelandic Met Office reported: “No measurable geophysical changes within the Katla volcano.”
It’s highly probable that they are looking down the wrong volcano, however. Volcanic chain reactions are not as regular, or indeed predictable as, say, the 4 seasons.
The pattern of seismic activity in Iceland:
The pattern of seismicity in Iceland is virtually unchanged sine the initial eruption occurred more than 2 weeks ago:
Iceland’s Map of Seismicity. Click image to enlarge and update (assuming the image is still there). Source IMO. See source for copyright information.
Iceland seismic record for the past 48 hours shows 7 separate cluster of quakes in the vicinity of the following volcanoes (See image below)
- Kolbeinsey ridge (Last erupted: 1999)
- Krafla (1984)/ Theistareykjarbunga (< 1000 BC)/ Tjörnes fracture zone (1868)
- Askja (1961)
- Bárðarbunga (1903) and neighboring Grímsvötn (2004)
- Grímsnes (> 3500 BC)
- Reykjanes (1879)
- Eyjafjallajökull (Currently ongoing)
Bárdarbunga, one of the most active volcanoes in Iceland, is a massive volcano with a 700-m-deep caldera which lies beneath the NW Vatnajökull icecap. A fissure eruption at Thjorsarhraun produced about 21 km³ of lava, the largest known Holocene lava flow on the planet.
Powerful eruptions may occur among the volcanoes lying along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The plate tectonics could also translate into increased seismicity along the divergent plate boundary and boundaries of neighboring plates.
Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands
Further evidence …
The pattern of seismicity in Iceland has remained almost unchanged from two days ago, while the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull has become less explosive.
Loads of magma seem to be flowing under the land of Ice and Fire [Iceland,] but where is it all going?
In Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting posted on April 20,2010, Fire Earth Moderators said they believed Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting or is about to Erupt.
Seismic events occurring between Apr 18 – 20,2010
Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands
Seismic events occurring between Apr 20 – 22,2010
Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Latest graphics click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge.
Iceland Volcanic Eruption – click image to enlarge
These images are monitoring for the presence of volcanic ash emission in the vicinity of Iceland using infrared data from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. Because cloud particles and volcanic ash particles interact with the infrared radiation in different ways, data at several different wavelengths can be combined to identify the main ash plume, which, when present, would be shown as yellow and orange colours in the images. Note that it is only the thicker parts of the plume that are able to be detected by this method. In addition, the ash plume is often masked by overlying high cloud. UK Met Office – © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office.
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Posted in iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption | 1 Comment »
Posted by feww on May 2, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Quietly Erupting
Volcanic Activity Report: May 02, 2010
Icelandic Met Office reported plume elevations and lava discharge levels close to the average activity during the past week. Lava is till flowing in a northerly direction from the crater and cascading down the Gígjökull glacier. “Today’s explosive activity and ash production represents a fraction of conditions during the height of the eruption (14-17 April). Presently, there are no measurable indications that the eruption is about to end.”
See also joint Status Report released by Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland (PDF file).
No new photo was available, as of posting, neither at the Institute of Earth Sciences nor Icelandic Met Office websites, presumably to prevent commercial exploitation [sic.]
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Posted in Gígjökull glacier, Iceland volcano, volcanism, volcano, Volcano Status | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Update MAY 2 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on April 25, 2010
Lava flows northwards from the Eyjafjallajökull crater, melting the glacial ice: Report
The local experts do not believe large-scale flooding could occur from the melt water, but then again …
Oh, and if you are wondering why everyone in Iceland is suddenly speaking about lava flow in the past tense, you’re not alone. The rascals didn’t tell anyone lava had started flowing 4 days ago!
Notice: The following updates were issued by various Icelandic organizations. Unlike the govt organizations in the US, nearly all of the information broadcast by government organizations and educational outlets in Iceland and most European countries may be subject to copyright. If your use of their data goes beyond the educational use/ fair use, be sure to contact the authors for copyright clarification/ permission.
Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management -Media team
Specialists from the Institute of the Earth Sciences (http://www.earthice.hi.is/ ) and the Icelandic Meteorological Office (http://www.vedur.is) flew over the eruption site in Eyjafjallajökull late yesterday. The lava flow seems to be of similar volume as in recent days (20-40 tons per second). The quantity of the volcanic plume is slowly decreasing. The flow of lava is most likely to have started near noon on April 21 when water started flowing continuously from Gígjökull. Steam plumes rose from the northern edges of the caldera after noon on that day and could be seen from a helicopter. Deflation associated with the volcanic tremor was noticed at the same time. There are no signs of melting or flow of water to the south. There are also no indications that the eruption is coming to an end.
There are still disruptions in domestic and international flights, according to information from ISAVIA, and passengers are therefore strongly advised to seek further information from air carriers and at: http://www.textavarp.is/ .
Icelandic Met Office Report
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
Indications of lava flow to the north – 25 April 11:30
Yesterday evening, geophysicists from the Institute of the Earth Sciences found indications of lava flow from the eruption site. The risk of sudden melt water flow is, however, minor. Following is their description:
“North of crater a roughly 300 m long and wide depression has been melted out in the last three days. Steam plumes rise from the depression, especially at the margins. This is explained by lava flowing northwards from the crater with the steam rising where lava meets ice … Flow of lava is considered to have begun around noon on Wednesday 21 April.”
Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, UoI
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull – status report 25 April 2010 at 1800
Eruption plume:
Height( a.s.l): Unknown, not seen above cloud cover at 5.3 km.
Heading: NW
Tephra fallout: Minor (light fallout detected at two farms 10 km NW of vents)
Conditions at eruption site: Overall activity similar as yesterday. Eruption seen from west in the morning – north crater still active. External water has not affected vent activity much since 18 April. Geologists field observations (2-10 km from vents) show that explosivity is magmatic and that the tephra produced since 18 April is much coarser than during first four days. Explosions heard at Fljótshlíð, 10-15 km NW of vents. Meltwater discharge suggest similar lava activity. Processing of data obtained yesterday shows that lava had advanced 400-500 m northwards from crater, forming an ice depression extending some 700 m from vents.
Overall assessment: Magma flow rate has remained at similar level over the last few days. Plume activity is gradually declining. Flow continues flowing towards north. No signs of melting or meltwater discharge towards south. No signs of termination of eruption.Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull – status report 24 April 2010 at 1700
Eruption plume: Height( a.s.l): 13000 feet (4 km)
Tephra fallout: Minor (plume dark but no reports of fallout in districts around volcano)
Meltwater: 100-120 m3/s, based on gauge at old Markarfljót bridge and a rough estimate of base flow.
GPS deformation: Indicates slow subsidence towards the center of the volcano.
Magma flow: Eruption plume: less or equal to 10 tonnes/s.
Lava flow: 10-30 tonnes/s
Total magma flow: 20-40 tonnes/s
For additional details see: Institute of the Earth Sciences
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Posted in eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, eyjafjallajoekull volcano, Eyjafjöll, Iceland volcano, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Eyjafjöll, Gígjökull, Iceland volcano, Icelandic volcano | 3 Comments »
Posted by feww on April 24, 2010
Comparative Calm Before Explosive Storm?
A Powerful Earthquake May Strike Iceland
The Plume at Eyjafjallajökull Rises to a Height of about 7,000m Sporadically, Idling Mostly at 4,000m
Fire Earth Moderators believe the volcano is spewing more ash than it did 2-3 days ago, despite the local reports.
Webcam at Valahnúk. Image recorded at 13:15UTC on April 24, 2010. Click Image to enlarge.
Hvolsvelli View [best image available all day from the webcam. Reduced visibility caused by volcanic ash, fumes, dust and clouds.]
Icelandic mat office said:
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland -Update on activity
Little changes – 24 April 2010 11:15
Volcanic tremor has been similar as the last 2-3 days.
Ash fall may be expected to the west and northwest from the eruption, minor in the Reykjavik area.
Water level in Markarfljót river is slightly higher than yesterday.
The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Media team, released the following bulletin earlier today:
News Release, 24 April 2010, 06:30
According to the Hvolsvöllur police, this was a quiet night. A little ash has fallen on Hvolsvöllur, and it is visible as a very fine dust on cars. The Weather Bureau expects strong winds from the northeast and the east along the southern coast, elsehwhere the winds will be softer and there will not be much precipitation. The ashen mist will probably move to the west and the northwest of the volcano, even reaching Reykjavík, but only in slight quantities
In a news release from the Chief Epidemiologist yesterday, it appears that wen ash mist occurs, or an increase in suspended particulates in the atmosphere, those who suffer from a dormant heart og lung disease are advised to remain indoors, but there is no call for using masks. It is expected that the eruption-related suspended particulates pollution in the capital area might be close to a similar pollution caused by traffic, and the warnings issued by health authorities will be in accordance with such pollution. The public should keep track of news and information and instruction on the websites of the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, http://www.almannavarnir.is, and of the Environment Agency, http://www.ust.is .
According to information from the airports, air traffic is limited to and from Keflavík, Reykjavík and Akureyri at the moment. No IFR-permissions are issued for Akureyri Airport, but the Egilsstaðir Airport is open to all flight traffic. Further information will be released later this morning.
The information centre for the media at Hvolsvöllur (tel. 847-4846) will remain open during he week-end. A press representative will be there, but there will be no meeting with specialists at 8 am. On the other hand, such meetings will be held at the information centre in Skógarhlíð from 08:00 til 09:00 am, Saturday and Sunday. Today, geophysicist Sigurlaug Hjaltadóttir, from Iceland Weather Bureau, Árni Snorrason, director of the Weather Bureau, and Árni Birgisson, director of the airport and guiding dept. of Isavia, will answer questions conveyed by the media and press agents.
Detailed Map of eruption Site [The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center]
Click on image to get larger map (pdf-file)
Prepared by: Ásta Rut Hjartardóttir (astahj@hi.is), Páll Einarsson (palli@hi.is)
See also
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Posted in eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Eyjafjöll, Iceland volcano, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: Ash fall, ASTER iamages, eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjöll, Iceland Satellite images, subglacial eruption, Volcanic hazards, Volcano Hazards, Volcano Satellite photos | 2 Comments »
Posted by feww on April 21, 2010
How Prepared Are YOU for a Major Disaster?
Eyjafjallajokull volcano is producing more lava, ash plume smaller: Icelandic Scientists
Eyjafjallajökull Activity Easing for Now: Europe’s skies are open, but there are too many stranded passengers to deal with
Here’s a summary of what’s happening in Europe right now:
Flight bans are lifted in Europe after nearly a week of restrictions caused by volcanic ash clouds drifting from Eyjafjallajökull glacial volcano.
Since last Thursday, April 15, some 100,000 flights from and to European destinations were canceled, stranding an estimated 18 million passengers worldwide, most of them in Europe. The cancellations came into effect a day after Eyjafjallajökull erupted, ejecting massive plumes of ash into the air, which drifted towards UK and rest of Europe.
Scale of disruption to the flights over Europe April 21, 2010. Image sourced from BBC World News, and may be subject to copyright. See Fire-Earth Fair Use Notice for details. Click image to enlarge.
From “NO Tolerance” to “Tolerance” in a few threats
The UK Met Office, which is the North-west European Volcanic Ash Advisory Center with responsibility for issuing the Volcanic Ash Advisories for volcanoes erupting in that area, had previously said that it would support decision-making by the UK’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS), the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other aviation authorities.
“It is for the aviation industry and regulator to set thresholds for safe ash ingestion. Currently, world-wide advice from ICAO is based on engine and airframe manufacturers stating that aircraft should not be exposed to any volcanic ash.” It said in a statement.
So the Airports and airlines went knocking angrily on the plane manufacturers doors:
“The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash,” the CAA said in a statement
“Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas.”
“Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, who made the initial announcement, denied the decision to reopen airspace was the result of pressure from the airline industry.” BBC reported.
“The issue at stake here has been the assessment of the safety authorities as to what is the safe way in which planes can fly when there is a presence of ash.” He said.
“The fact which has changed in the last week is we have had a volcanic eruption and having to assess safe levels of ash content in the atmosphere within which planes can fly has been an urgent issue which the safety authorities have had to deal with.”
The fact that some of the airplanes may fall out of the sky in 3 months time, without anyone revealing what exactly caused the crash(s) is entirely irrelevant to his Lordship’s falsity.
“This solution has been reached as a result of the close working between the government, the Civil Aviation Authority, airlines and the manufacturers, and will allow the thousands of UK citizens stranded abroad to return home to their families.” The UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. [The safety of passengers has never been a paramount issue.]
“We will of course continue to monitor the situation closely; as we have said throughout safety is our primary concern,” he added. [You mean when when a BA plane crashes? More likely, you’d probably help cover up what caused it, if that happened.]
DO NOT FLY PLANES THAT HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO VOLCANIC ASH!
How Prepared Are YOU for a Major Disaster? More on this later.
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Posted in iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano | Tagged: Europe Flight Ban, eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, eyjafjallajokull map, flight to europe | 3 Comments »
Posted by feww on April 20, 2010
Considerable volcanic activity is occurring at three separate craters at Eyjafjallajökull, with explosions heard continually
Plume of ash is reaching a height of about 6,000m asl. The ash is accumulating around the edge of the craters and is beginning to form a rim. Lava splatters were earlier ejected to a height of about 3 km this morning.
The visibility in the vicinity of Eyjafjoll and at Asolfsskali var was reported at 500 meters, about two hours ago (~ 07:00UTC).
“There is no risk of flash floods because the water is continuously flowing off the glacier.” Local experts said.
Iceland Met Office (IMO) – Update on activity
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
Sound blasts – 20 April 2010 at 12:30(UTC)
Heavy sound blasts have been heard and found near Eyjafjallajökull, especially south and east of the mountain, and more clearly after wind speeds became lower. Possible explanation: Very hot gases rise from the eruptive channel. When surfaced, the temperature of the gases drops sharply with abrupt changes in pressure. These result in shock- and sound waves which can be carried long distances in air. END.
Volcanic Ash Drift from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Eruption
This image uses infrared data from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite to generate a false colour composite image. This presents information about the infrared radiation being emitted by the ash plume, and by surrounding clouds, at several different wavelengths. Because cloud particles and volcanic ash particles interact with the infrared radiation in different ways, they show up as different colours when the data are presented in this way (but it is important to note that these are false colour images, and the colours do not correspond to the actual colours that would be seen by the human eye). Please refer to the forecaster blog to read the latest information regarding the evolution of the plume. Caption: UK Met Office
How Bad is the Ash Drift in the UK?
A spokesman for UK’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS) said: “The volcano eruption in Iceland has strengthened and a new ash cloud is spreading south and east towards the UK. This demonstrates the dynamic and rapidly changing conditions in which we are working. Latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation is worsening in some areas.”
Latest Eruption Images from the Webcams – Click images to enlarge
Eyjafjallajökull seen from Hvolsvelli
Eyjafjallajökull seen from Thórólfsfelli
Eyjafjallajökull seen from Valahnúk
Image of Ash from Eyjafjallajökull by NASA’s MODIS
Large plume of ash and fumes is seen spewing out of the volcano’s craters.
Eyjafjallajökull Captured by ALI on NASA’s EO-1 satellite
Download large image (2 MB, JPEG)
Ash Drift Graphics Issued by Volcanic Ash Advisory London, UK
Animation of an Advisory Chart
This is an illustration of volcanic ash dispersion up to 20,000 ft, issued at 7 am (06:00UTC) on 20 April. Advisory charts are issued every six hours, for up to 18 hours ahead, by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, London, UK.
Polar Orbiter Imagery
These images show the progression of the main volcanic ash plume from Eyjafjallajökull on April 15, as detected using data from polar orbiting satellites operated by NOAA and EUMETSAT. As with the MSG images, these make use of the varying properties of the ash particles at different wavelengths. The ash cloud signal is yellow and orange in this sequence. The early images are able to detect only a very narrow section of plume close to the Icelandic coast, mainly because of the presence of higher-level ice clouds which are obscuring much of the ash below. Succeeding images show the ash plume developing more clearly as it spreads eastwards. Caption: UK Met Office.
Cross-Sectional Diagrammatic Representation of What Eyjafjallajökull and Katla might look like
For more information email Páll Einarsson (palli@raunvis.hi.is)
Insight into the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull from GPS data – Sigrún Hreinsdóttir and Þóra Árnadóttir [Source: Institute of Earth Sciences- NVC]
20. April 2010: Latest results from GPS stations around Eyjafjallajökull show deflation associated with the eruption. No movements associated with the Katla volcano are presently observed – Benedikt Ófeigsson and Bryndís Brandsdóttir
In the first two days of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano summit eruption (14. April), two GPS stations located north (STE2) and south (THEY) of the summit crater moved rapidly toward the eruption site (about 6 cm contraction between stations). Modeling of the GPS data suggest deformation due to a volume change of a shallow magma source (1 km depth). This is consistent with chemical analysis of the magma erupted, intermediate chemical composition (58 wt% silica) (Níels Óskarsson). The volume decrease estimated from the GPS data (3-10 million cupic m) is however only a small portion of the volume estimated to have erupted in the first few days (Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson et al.). GPS stations around Eyjafjallajokull volcano (http://notendur.hi.is/runa/eyja_gps.html) show continued deflation of the region, but now at a much slower rate at the stations closest to the summit. This could indicate continued deflation of another and deeper magma source.
Volume of erupted material and magma discharge for the first 72 hours
The Institute of Earth Sciences has now made a preliminary estimate of erupted material in the first three days of the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull. The erupted products are fragmented material, the majority fine-grained airborne tephra. Eruptive products can be split into three categories:
1. Material (tephra) in the ice cauldrons around the volcanic vents.
2. Tephra filling the glacial lagoon of Gígjökulslón, carried by floods down the outlet glacier Gígjökull.
3. Airborne tephra that has been carried to the east and south of the volcano (see memo by Thorvaldur Thordarson, Guðrún Larsen and Ármann Höskuldsson, pdf-file)
The preliminary results are as follows:
Tephra in ice cauldrons 30 Million m³
Tephra in Gígjökull lagoon 10 Million m³
Tephra fallout from eruption plume 100 Million m³
Total: 140 Million m³
The tephra is uncompacted, these values corresponds to some 70-80 Million m³ of magma. The average magma discharge rate is about 300 m³/s or 750 tonnes/s.
This is 10-20 times the averge discharge rate in the preceeding flank eruption at Fimmvörðuháls.
Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson; Þorvaldur Þórðarson; Guðrún Larsen; Ármann Höskuldsson; Þórdís Högnadóttir; Eyjólfur Magnússon
[Source: Institute of Earth Sciences- NVC]
How fine is the ash?
After the ashfall in the 14-16 April eruption, the Environment Agency collected samples from Mýrdalssandur (50 km away from the eruption site), which were then analyzed by Institute of Earth Sciences . The ash had a high fluorine content and was fine grained in the follows composition:
- 24% of the sample was smaller than 10 μm (aerosol)
- 33% of the sample measured 10-50 μm
- 20% of the sample measured 50-146 μm
- 23% of the sample measured 146-294 μm
- Source: IMO
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Posted in eyjafjallajoekull volcano, Iceland volcano, Thórólfsfelli, Valahnúk, volcano | Tagged: Asolfsskali var, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull satellite photos, eyjafjallajokull map, Eyjafjöll, Hvolsvelli, iceland volcano satellite image | 1 Comment »
Posted by feww on April 19, 2010
A Time to Reorganize!
Another Massive Plume of Volcanic Ash from Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Invades UK Airspace
You could have a situation in the not-too-distant future whereby 2, 3, 4, 6 even 8 volcanoes located ‘inconveniently’ would erupt simultaneously, ejecting ash and fumes into atmosphere unabatedly.
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Status:
- Eyjafjallajökull is currently erupting with the ash plume reaching a height of about 7.5 to 10km
- Two large plumes of ash are drifting toward Europe
Latest Image of eruption at Eyjafjallajökull. Source: Frettabladid, Island. Image may be subject to copyright.
Large amounts of volcanic ash fell overnight in a vast area from Ásólfsskáli to Sólheimajökull, Iceland, the country’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management reported. “Work is in progress to close off National route 1(Suðurlandsvegur) from Markarfljótsbrú as far as Sólheimajökull. Visibility has been at around 400 to 500m, reducing to 100m in some areas. This morning there were reports from Þorvaldseyri that there was almost no visibility at all.”
“From midnight last night steady northerly winds blew over the eruption, which according to information from the Icelandic Met Office, should continue today and therefore present the possibility of ash fall in the area under the glacier and even over Vestmannaeyjar.” The report said.
In Europe: UK
UK airspace will remain closed until 1:00BST (00:00UTC) on Tuesday April 20, 2010, due to the ongoing volcanic activity in Iceland.
“The Eyjafjallajökull volcano is still erupting and weather patterns continue to blow volcanic ash towards the UK. Ongoing observations have detected dust in the atmosphere and on the ground. On Sunday afternoon a research aircraft observed volcanic ash over the UK as far south as southern England. UK Met Office said.
Satellite image of ash plume at 0745 UTC on Monday 19 April 2010 – Image below is a false color composite.
Shades of orange represent the volcanic ash in the atmosphere. © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office. Click image to enlarge
IR Satellite image of the UK and Ireland. © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office. Click image to enlarge.
The above is an illustration of volcanic ash dispersion up to 20,000 ft, issued at 7 am on 19 April. Advisory charts are issued every six hours, for up to 18 hours ahead, by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.
Icelandic volcano – Air ash concentration graphics – 18 April 2010 – Different colors represent different concentration rates with red high and blue low. Exact concentrations are not given because they are dependent on the amount of material emitted from the volcano. Interpretation of the actual concentration values requires reliable knowledge of the rate at which the material is erupted. Source: UK Met Office
Articles by Iceland Review (English)
More Photos
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Serial No 1,594. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Posted in volcano | Tagged: eu airspace, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, UK Airspace | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on April 19, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Cauldron and Ash Plume Seen in NASA Satellite Images
Visible (left) and infrared (right) images of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano, acquired April 17, 2010, from the Hyperion instrument onboard NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL/EO-1 Mission/GSFC/Ashley Davies
In the left-hand image, created from visible wavelengths, new black ash deposits are visible on the ground, as well as nearby brilliant unsullied ice and snow and the volcano’s brown, billowing plume. The plume’s dark color reflects its large ash content. These fine particles of pulverized rock are carried high into the atmosphere, where they create a hazard for aviation and are carried long distances by the prevailing winds.
In contrast, the false-color, infrared image at the right reveals the intense thermal emissions (at least 60 megawatts, or 60 million watts) emanating from the vent at the base of the massive plume. This thermal emission, equivalent to the energy consumption of 60,000 homes, represents only a small proportion of the total energy being released by the volcano as its molten lava interacts violently with ice and water. Each image covers an area measuring 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) wide, and has a resolution of 30 meters (98 feet) per pixel. The vertical direction is north-northeast. Images and Caption: NASA [Edited for brevity.]
Related Links:
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – Satellite Images
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE Apr 18 [Other links to Eyjafjallajökull are found on this page]
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Serial No 1,592. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Posted in Eyjafjallajökull, Fimmvörduháls, Iceland volcano, volcanic eruption, volcano | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Eyjafjallajökull satellite photos, volcanic ash, volcanic eruption | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on April 18, 2010
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Intensifying
Fire-Earth can confirm that the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull is intensifying with ash plume rising to a height of about 10km.
The sun turns dark: Eyjafjallajökull through Valahnúk Webcam at 07:30UTC
The eruption at Eyjafjallajökull has almost completely darkened the sky. Click image to enlarge.
Note: The Eyjafjallajökull Hvolsvelli Webcam was not operating properly, as of posting.
How Long Will Eyjafjallajökull Erupt
There is absolutely no reason why the explosive activity at Eyjafjallajökull couldn’t go on for days, weeks even months. Not only Eyjafjallajökull could follow the “Chaitén pattern” and even trigger other, larger volcanoes like Kata to erupt. Indeed, there’s historic precedence for the latter scenario.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office agrees with Fire-Earth assessment.
“The eruption could go on like that for a long time,” geophysicist Bergthora Thorbjarnardottir at the Meteorological Office said.
© Veðurstofa Íslands
Maps of Volcanic Ash in the Atmosphere
Shades of orange represent the volcanic ash in the atmosphere. © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office. Click image to enlarge
UKMET: Update to Volcanic Ash Plume — 0851 on Sunday 18 April 2010
“Satellite imagery Sunday morning shows an active volcanic plume spreading ash southwards and southeastwards from southern Iceland. Remnants of earlier plume activity over Europe much less evident now on derived dust imagery. Recent information from the Icelandic Met Office suggests the volcano is currently erupting ash to a height of approximately 4km. Issued at 0850 on Sun 18 Apr 2010.”
Where is the volcanic ash moving?
A diagrammatic illustration of volcanic ash dispersion up to 20,000 ft, issued at 7 pm on 17 April. Advisory charts are issued every six hours, for up to 18 hours ahead, by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center. Source: UK Met Office.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Graphicsfrom London Met Office. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.
‘Chaos’ as the volcanic ash from Iceland continues to move into Europe’s airspace
About 60,000 flight will have been canceled by Sunday evening (UTC) with an estimated 12 million air travelers stranded since Thursday.
Desperate Airlines ‘Daredevil Management’ May Well End in DISASTER
About 20 countries have closed their airspaces until late Sunday, some into Monday, leaving millions of passengers globally as ash clouds from Eyjafjallajökull eruption linger on in Europe’s airspace.
Dutch and German airlines have reportedly carried out test flights, apparently without any damage to the planes. The most obvious dangers of such recklessness are the facts that the concentration of airborne ash particles is neither uniform, nor constant. High concentration of ash may exists in air pockets that the test flights avoided, or changing wind patterns could increase the concentration of ash in an air route within minutes.
In fact the weather reports say the Icelandic ash concentration in the upper atmosphere may become more concentrated through Wednesday.
Airlines are desperate because, in addition to losing money for each flight canceled, their stock values are taking a nosedive, too. In fact some of the major carriers could lose by as much as 10 percent of their share values by Tuesday.
Why is volcanic ash so dangerous?
Volcanic ash is composed of small tephra, or tiny bits of pulverized glass and rock that are created by volcanic eruptions. The particles are usually accompanied by several gases including sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is mixed with water in the air and converted into droplets of sulfuric acid and other substances that are harmful to the plane. Volcanic ash is potentially deadly to aircraft and their passengers. It poses three types of danger to aircraft by way of:
- Clogging the engine and causing engine failure
- Clogging the fuel and cooling systems
- Melting in the hot parts of the engine, and fusing on engine components thereby causing loss of engine thrust that could lead into a flame out, shutting down the engine
- Breaking the blades and other sensitive components inside the turbine
- Causing physical damage to various parts of the plane including abrasion of engine parts, the airframe, as well as control and steering mechanism
- Reducing visibility
Few Facts about Icelandic Volcanoes
- Iceland is home to about 130 volcanoes, 18 of which have erupted since about 1,000 years ago.
- Eruption from Iceland’s volcanoes have produced more than 30 percent of the total lava output globally, since the 1500s.
- The Laki eruption in 1783-1784 produced he largest volume of lava in the last 500 years.
- An eruption of Eldgjá in 934 CE produced twice as much lava as did Laki.
Explosion at Laki (Lakagigar) Volcanic fissure
A destructive eruption at Laki volcano, which occurred over an 8-month period in 1783–1784, ejected about 14 cubic km (3.4 cu mi) of basalt lava and plumes of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur-dioxide gas that lead to a famine in Iceland. About a quarter of the population and half of all livestock perished. Dust clouds covered most of Europe and parts of Eurasia and Africa for a year.
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Flight disruptions
Serial No 1,589. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Posted in Iceland volcano, Katla, Markarfljót river, volcanic eruption, volcano | Tagged: Ash cloud, Eldgjá, Europe airspace, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Fimmvörduháls, glacier flood, Laki | 4 Comments »
Posted by feww on April 18, 2010
The sun turns dark
Earth sinks in the sea, the fair, bright stars disappear from the heavens
Ragnarök
The sun turns dark,
earth sinks in the sea,
the fair, bright stars
disappear from the heavens.
Sizzling blaze
around the tree of life
colossal heat plays with
the heavens. —Völuspá
The above stanzas were quoted from the famous Nordic poem Völuspá in the Iceland Review. Völuspá, Prophecy of the Völva, tells the story of creation of the world and how it comes to its end, and is arguably the most important source for understanding the Norse mythology.
Yggdrasil, a modern representation of the world tree which is central to Norse mythology. The world tree is a motif that appears in some Indo-European religions and mythologies. It is represented as a giant tree that supports the heavens, connects it to the earth, and the underground through its roots.
“It was like the sun had gone out in the middle of the day.”
Iceland Review editor Bjarni Brynjólfsson and photographer Páll Stefánsson wondered how it was to drive through the area affected by the eruption: “We tried driving into the darkness and it was like we had stepped into another dimension. We felt it was the end of the world as described in Völuspá, the old Icelandic Poem the tells the story of the end of the world called Ragnarök or Götterdämmerung in the famous opera by Wagner.” More …
What Happened to Disaster Tourism?
The rascals coiled their tails and ran for the coast. Nearby roads covered in a thick blanket of volcanic ash. Credit: Ómar Óskarsson via MBL-Is. Image may be subject to copyright.
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Serial No 1,587. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Posted in Disaster Tourism, Norse mythology, Völuspá, Völva, Yggdrasil | Tagged: Eldgjá, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull eruption melts glacier, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Fimmvörduháls, Götterdämmerung, glacier flood, Iceland volcano, Katla, Laki, Markarfljót river, Ragnarök, volcanic eruption, volcano | 5 Comments »
Posted by feww on April 17, 2010
Webcams Show Heightened Activity
Eruption at Eyjafjallajökull has steadily Intensified in the past 3 hours
Eyjafjallajökull has resumed explosive activity in the past 3 hours, having earlier slowed down to sporadically ejecting single plumes of ash once every 2 to 3 minutes.
The following are latest images obtained from two webcams that are trained on Eyjafjallajökull at Valahnúk and Hvolsvelli stations. The images show a constant stream of ash, steam and fumes spewed from the Icelandic volcano.The images are provided by Míla ehf and may be subject to copyright.
Valahnúk Webcam freeze frame of Eyjafjallajökull at 08:55UTC .
Hvolsvelli Webcam Image of Eyjafjallajokull also recorded at 08:55UTC.
The following irregular sequence of images were recorded from Hvolsvelli Webcam.
[L-R and T-B] Freeze frames shows a large plume of ash, steam and gasses ejected from the volcano just after sunrise at 5;16UTC on April 17, 2010. The ash plume seen in the first frame above dispersed (second frame) within minutes of being ejected from Eyjafjallajokull; however, after a series of explosions that occurred about 30 seconds later, another plume was ejected out of the volcano’s crater. The new plume seemed to be slightly larger than the previous one. Click image to enlarge.
Another sequence of images recorded simultaneously from Hvolsvelli and Valahnúk Webcams.
[T – B] The above freeze frames were recorded at about 5:31UTC, showing single plumes of ash and gasses ejected from Eyjafjallajokul. Click image to enlarge.
[T – B] The above freeze frames were recorded at about 5:35UTC. Most of the frames show two plumes, indicating a gradual increase in the frequency of eruptions at Eyjafjallajokul. Click image to enlarge.
This frame was recorded at 5:40UTC showing 3 plumes which meant the eruptions at Eyjafjallajokul had further intensified. Click image to enlarge.
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Serial No 1,586. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Posted in Eyjafjallajökull, Fimmvörduháls, Iceland volcano, Katla | Tagged: Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull eruption melts glacier, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, glacier flood, Hekla volcano, Hvolsvelli, Markarfljót river, Valahnúk, volcanic eruption, volcano | 2 Comments »
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