Iceland volcanic ash alert grounds UK flights

[D69]

Posts: 156




Re: Iceland volcanic ash alert grounds UK flights
« Reply #1 on: Today at 04:44:05 AM » Quote

Hi Treesparrow

Are you thinking of this session, last December?

http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=15338.0

I remembered that too, as I heard about this on the radio this morning - here is the end of that transcript.

According to BBC News as of midday today, all UK flights will be canceled from every where.

I could be wrong, but I think this is the first time ever. Even after the strikes and various 'security alerts' in the last 10 years!

I must say that i was rather thinking about air traffic stop that would happen within 8 months. C`s mentioned it few sessions ago.

 

[Niall]

And now flights from the US are being canceled:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/206840-U-S-airlines-cancel-Europe-flights

All for this??

 

[Vulcan59]

Hi Kniall,

That picture doesn't show volcanic ash but cloud cover. The latest significant meteorological conditions, SIGMET shows that only the Danish Flight Information Region is affected and the volcanic ash is moving South East in the upper levels which seems to tally with the jetstream direction. :)

 

[Beau]

From what I've read, the flights are being canceled not because of visibility issues, but because of worries that the release of the ash plum will clog jet engines in the air. Is that a common reason for grounding flights? Vulcan?

 

[Vulcan59]

Yep, absolutely correct. Volcanic ash may not be seen (at night) or picked up by radar. If the engines ingest volcanic ash, it's a good chance that the engines will fail as has been documented before. :)

 

[Laurentien2]

And now flights from the US are being canceled:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/206840-U-S-airlines-cancel-Europe-flights

All for this??

And flights from Canada as well.http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iGiEoFrlZedKsAFij8mujABHuUfg

 

[Devar]

All of northern Europe is a no fly zone now.

Volcanic ash turns northern Europe into no-fly zone
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE63E0WC20100415?sp=true

I suppose it'll be "for our own safety" and I am inclined to agree for once -- the link to the "Jakarta Incident" (British Airways Flight 9) that lost all engines when flying through a volcano's ash cloud illustrates that it's serious problem.

 

[The rabbit]

All of northern Europe is a no fly zone now.

So if anything that is seen in the air from now until clearance is given , and not emergency flights must be.....?

Good time to watch the skies maybe.

 

[Breton]

A volcanic eruption in Iceland has halted air traffic across Finland. The Finnish aviation authority Finavia grounded flights across the country's airspace late Thursday. Airports at Helsinki-Vantaa and in Malmi were the last to be closed, from midnight Thursday.

Finavia says the current no-fly rules will remain in force until at least 3.00 pm Saturday. Officials stress that the situation is being updated constantly, but it's not yet clear how long the flight restrictions will last. The Finnish Meteorological Institute has predicted that the high-flying cloud of ash and other particles will hover over Finland for some days to come.
FROM : http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/04/volcanic_ash_grounds_flights_across_finland_1607465.html

I suppose this danger could really be true of what they say, because if what is written about 1982 incident is also true, then I it would be logical to be cautious. In thiis case, 24 June, 1982 a jumbo jet ran into trouble at 37,000 feet and did not clearly see trouble coming, if I read it correctly. Yet the ash particles stopped the Jumbo jet's 4 engines. [From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8622099.stm]

Closing airspace is certainly a BIG DEAL for today's modern society. Now my main question at the moment is, if it is hard to see the ash particles, how do the aviation authorities know when it is safe to start to fly again? Just briefly looking at what is put in the news, it almost makes me wonder if the whole danger due to ash is still not understood very well, but I could be wrong about that.

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

from wikipedia

he concentrations of different volcanic gases can vary considerably from one volcano to the next. Water vapor is typically the most abundant volcanic gas, followed by carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Other principal volcanic gases include hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride. A large number of minor and trace gases are also found in volcanic emissions, for example hydrogen, carbon monoxide, halocarbons, organic compounds, and volatile metal chlorides.

Large, explosive volcanic eruptions inject water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF) and ash (pulverized rock and pumice) into the stratosphere to heights of 16–32 kilometres (10–20 mi) above the Earth's surface. The most significant impacts from these injections come from the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid (H2SO4), which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sulfate aerosols. The aerosols increase the Earth's albedo—its reflection of radiation from the Sun back into space - and thus cool the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere; however, they also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth, thereby warming the stratosphere. Several eruptions during the past century have caused a decline in the average temperature at the Earth's surface of up to half a degree (Fahrenheit scale) for periods of one to three years — sulfur dioxide from the eruption of Huaynaputina probably caused the Russian famine of 1601 - 1603. The sulfate aerosols also promote complex chemical reactions on their surfaces that alter chlorine and nitrogen chemical species in the stratosphere. This effect, together with increased stratospheric chlorine levels from chlorofluorocarbon pollution, generates chlorine monoxide (ClO), which destroys ozone (O3). As the aerosols grow and coagulate, they settle down into the upper troposphere where they serve as nuclei for cirrus clouds and further modify the Earth's radiation balance. Most of the hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF) are dissolved in water droplets in the eruption cloud and quickly fall to the ground as acid rain. The injected ash also falls rapidly from the stratosphere; most of it is removed within several days to a few weeks. Finally, explosive volcanic eruptions release the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and thus provide a deep source of carbon for biogeochemical cycles.

Gas emissions from volcanoes are a natural contributor to acid rain. Volcanic activity releases about 130 to 230 teragrams (145 million to 255 million short tons) of carbon dioxide each year.[3] Volcanic eruptions may inject aerosols into the Earth's atmosphere. Large injections may cause visual effects such as unusually colorful sunsets and affect global climate mainly by cooling it. Volcanic eruptions also provide the benefit of adding nutrients to soil through the weathering process of volcanic rocks. These fertile soils assist the growth of plants and various crops. Volcanic eruptions can also create new islands, as the magma cools and solidifies upon contact with the water.

 

[Mayb]

And now flights from the US are being canceled:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/206840-U-S-airlines-cancel-Europe-flights

All for this??

And flights from Canada as well.http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iGiEoFrlZedKsAFij8mujABHuUfg

Are we coming to the point that US international air traffic is stopped , like Cass predicted?

 

[D69]

thats a nice photo :O

 

[Laura]

Ya'll add some of your comments - especially eyewitness ones in UK - to the FB post about the sott article:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SOTTNET/458298565312

Scroll down for it. You'll see there's a bit of controversy.

 

[andi]

My god, that's a nice pic.

 

[Windmill knight]

An 'expert' says that the eruption may continue for months, which is correct of course, because volcanoes are quite unpredictable.

The sad thing is that this leaves the door open for plenty of opportunities for 'them' to decide at any given time that all flights should be grounded all over northern Europe. How lucky is that? People don't even need to see any ashes on the sky; we will all be asked to believe that the ash is too dense at any particular time and lethal for airplanes, yet invisible to the naked eye.

Better start researching trains and ferries...