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[gofreak]

All flights prohibited from UK airspace until at least 0600 tomorrow - NATS

Just to update, on their site they say 0700. Not a big difference, but still. They say at 8pm they'll make another update that'll advise of the situation up to 1300 tomorrow.

http://www.nats.co.uk/

 

[kyo_daikun]

I work at heathrow, been extremly busy all day long trying to sort everything out (getting passengers their bags back), expect it to be the same tomorrow

 

[Meadows]

Just to update, on their site they say 0700. Not a big difference, but still. They say at 8pm they'll make another update that'll advise of the situation up to 1300 tomorrow.

http://www.nats.co.uk/

Huh, weird, BBC News ticker showed it as 0600 before but have changed it now. Must have been a typo. Good luck to all those stuck around the world.

 

[Geeker]

Video of the flood at the mountain:

http://visir.is/article/20100414/FRETTIR01/366638533

Just think if you were camping somewhere at the plain...

Wow, i wonder what percentage of the glacier melted

 

[yonder]

Fuck, I have a flight from Stockholm to Edinburgh on Monday afternoon. Damn shitty ash.

 

[Incognito]

My folks have a holiday planned and a flight to Spain on Sunday (From Gatwick), am i right in thinking theres no chance the flight will go

They worked all year for it last year and insurance wont cover this at all

they didn't buy insurance from a 3rd party??

 

[DrM]

Well...how long do eruptions normally last? :S

From several hours to several weeks or even months

 

[gofreak]

From several hours to several weeks or even months

Of course the other factor here is things like wind and pressure etc. But it doesn't sound like those variables will be any more favourable over the next few days.

The current forecast up to next week seems to be for the clockwise airflow and high pressure to remain.

Then if anything next week the winds are supposed to bring airflow more directly from iceland...however, precipitation is forecast then, so if the dust continues, you'll then see depositions...but hopefully that would clear the atmosphere?

 

[Mr. Luchador]

This is going to set the UK Space Program back by Decades... DECADES!

Space Hamster 1 is a no go.

 

[PJV3]

It's interesting that when this volcano erupts it is usually followed by a much larger eruption at the Katla volcano.

 

[-x.Red.x-]

found this a little funny

 

[gofreak]

Supposedly we should have a better idea of what Eyjafjallajökull is up to later this evening. Visual observations are difficult right now because of poor weather, but they're sending surveillance flights with radar and temperature sensors later to get a peek in. (How they can send those flights up safely I do not know ) That should tell us how things will pan out over tomorrow.

 

[pestul]

Of note, the last major eruption of this volcano lasted for 18 months. Not sure the European economy could hold up that long. Yes, the wind could change direction, but it could change right back the next day, so its a delicate situation.

 

[pestul]

It's interesting that when this volcano erupts it is usually followed by a much larger eruption at the Katla volcano.

We need to pray that doesn't happen.

 

[Wes]

So my understanding is we should/could be in for an awesome sunset this evening.

 

[PJV3]

We need to pray that doesn't happen.

"At the peak of the Katla 1755 eruption the flood discharge has been estimated between 200,000–400,000 m³/s; for comparison the combined average discharge of the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers is about 290,000 m³/s."

I see what you mean.

 

[gofreak]

Of note, the last major eruption of this volcano lasted for 18 months.

How does this one compare so far?

I've read that the current eruption is 10-20 times larger than the one last month, but dunno what that is in the bigger scheme of things. Is the last time there was ever activity on this level back when this 18-month sequence was, or have there been eruptions like this in the meantime that have come and gone quickly?

 

[pestul]

How does this one compare so far?

I've read that the current eruption is 10-20 times larger than the one last month, but dunno what that is in the bigger scheme of things. Is the last time there was ever activity on this level back when this 18-month sequence was, or have there been eruptions like this in the meantime that have come and gone quickly?

Yeah, there have been several smaller eruptions since the last full scale eruption. I'm not sure how this compares yet. Lets hope its less than a few weeks though.

 

[MrPing1000]

I like how the ash cloud is avoiding Northern Ireland. Good plan.

 

[Cirruss]

Curse you Iceland, we wanted Cash not Ash.

 

[gofreak]

The ash, it is spreading. Paris and 23 other airports in France are closed now.

Interesting because France is/was well out of the way of the forecasted spread of the dust. Maybe though, larger areas around the immediate path of the dust can be affected.

 

[Wessiej]

Curse you Iceland, we wanted Cash not Ash.

:lol

 

[Tranced Shadow]

Looks like Smokey escaped the island

 

[Numpt3]

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control. I trust you are not in too much distress.”

yeah right :lol

 

[navanman]

Curse you Iceland, we wanted Cash not Ash.

I could make a joke about Kerry Katona and Iceland but one's not coming to mind at the moment.

 

[gofreak]

Latest forecast up to 0600 tomorrow isn't so good:

http://metoffice.com/aviation/vaac/data/VAG_1271331761.png

The area affected is much larger in this one than the last I posted. I wonder if the density of dust will be large enough over this whole area to cause disruption though.

 

[hylje]

I like how the ash cloud is avoiding Northern Ireland. Good plan.

I need a vacation, all I could think of was :

P.S. Having a full blown cloud tormeting midsummer would devasted many scandinavians after long dark winter.

 

[gofreak]

The Irish national carrier has extended cancellations on its euro flights to 1pm tomorrow (from the previous 6am). Some transatlantic flights will operate with delays (I'm guessing they can go because the dust is east of us, and they're heading west).

 

[speculawyer]

I'm not going to feel sympathy for this. I trust they'll evacuate the people and perhaps suffer some property loss.

However, in the big picture, Iceland is truly blessed to have this natural resource. They heat just about the entire country with geothermal power. They are installing electricity plants that can take advantage of the excess power to do electricity intensive things like smelting aluminum. In a few years, they'll nearly all be driving electric cars and importing almost no oil whatsoever except for boats, big trucks, and specialty vehicles.

So in the big picture, Iceland is damn lucky to have these volcanoes.

 

[Atrophis]

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/highlights/icelandic_ash.html

 

[jamieson87]

Well, work was a joy today. :lol

 

[GCX]

Helsinki-Vantaa airport will probably be closed at midnight. After that all the airports are down in Finland as well.

 

[Numpt3]

Well, work was a joy today. :lol

You work in an airport? I bet that was a nightmare with all the people complaining...

 

[sinxtanx]

So, if Katla blows up we're all screwed?

And this volcano has a history of triggering it?

please don't happen please don't happen please don't happen please don't happen please don't happen

Spoiler

we must escape into the ocean

 

[jamieson87]

You work in an airport? I bet that was a nightmare with all the people complaining...

I wok for TNT, inbound flight into Edinburgh was cancelled. Cue complaints.

 

[gofreak]

It's weird looking out and not seeing a single vapour trail from a plane. The sky is just a nice even, unblemished pale blue.

 

[BorkBork]

Damn, good thing I cancelled plans to volunteer for a few weeks there in late April. :lol

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Damn, good thing I cancelled plans to volunteer for a few weeks there in late April. :lol

Yeah, we'd have to rename you

BjorkBjork

... I'll get my coat.

 

[DrM]

According to BBC, people on Shetland Islands are reporting bitter taste in their mouths and some ash is already falling to the ground.

 

[Atrophis]

Well, work was a joy today. :lol

My buddy works the lifts for disabled/wheelchair users to get on planes at East Midlands. He's pretty pissed he has the day off today :lol

 

[DrM]

Latest ash cloud prediction
VAAC

Predicition for tommorw is that cloud will move towards Russia and on Baltic sea, Ireland should be clear of it

 

[okno]

Ive always, you know, wanted my country to make a difference to the world, but this isn't what I had expected.

 

[Lonely1]

Amazing satellite photo. (High res)

 

[gofreak]

Latest on the volcano itself:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/318957,icelands-volcano-keeps-spewing-ash.html

Iceland's volcano continued to spew ash and smoke skywards Thursday evening with no sign of letup in the days ahead, officials said in Reykjavik.

The Foreign Ministry said experts said the risk of ongoing volcanic activity for the upcoming days was high.

"We can only hope that the situation will calm down," Iceland President Johanna Sigurdardottir said on television.

"But we can't do anything. The damage is already considerable," she added.

Vulcanologists in Reykjavik noted that the last eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, about 120 kilometres east of the capital of Reykjavik, in 1821 came to an end after two years. That period was marked by various phases of activity ranging from weak to strong to periods of dormancy.

Those planes are going in at 8, I think. So we should maybe get a better idea of how long this will go on for then?

 

[cruets]

sooooo pissed. bad lieutenant aka new order i'm suppose to see in san francisco tomorrow night. well, their flight just got canceled cause of this fucking volcano, fuuuuuck ><

via jake from bad loo's twit

" stuck in manchester
Hello everyone,
Unbelievably, our flight to San Fran is cancelled due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Volcanic ash has meant that all uk airports are shut down til midnight at least. We're stuck in Manchester trying to stay positive. Doing everything we can to get there.

Jake"

 

[Meadows]

Fucking Iceland. Apparently flights are still going out of Reykjavik heading west because the plumes of ash are going east. So there's very little disruption to Iceland at the moment...

With this and the debt to the UK/Holland Iceland isn't making itself very popular :lol

 

[okno]

I swear, people in this thread are more concerned about this eruption than anyone in Iceland. The news is keeping up with new developments, but they're just little blurbs and the people all just talk about how cool it is. There's not a drop of fear in the air, it's kind of funny.

 

[gofreak]

I swear, people in this thread are more concerned about this eruption than anyone in Iceland. The news is keeping up with new developments, but they're just little blurbs and the people all just talk about how cool it is. There's not a drop of fear in the air, it's kind of funny.

Well, it's grinding air traffic to a halt in many places...a big deal!

It seems possible westbound traffic will loosen up here in Ireland tomorrow and in the following days, but if the winds go northerly on Sunday as they're forecast to do (and the volcano's still spewing), we're f-ed again! Meanwhile eastbound traffic is still going to be at the mercy of whatever's happening in the UK etc.

 

[Meadows]

I swear, people in this thread are more concerned about this eruption than anyone in Iceland. The news is keeping up with new developments, but they're just little blurbs and the people all just talk about how cool it is. There's not a drop of fear in the air, it's kind of funny.

The volcano is in a very remote part of Iceland and is heading away from the country. They are arguably the least affected country in Northern/Western Europe by this eruption.

 

[Lonely1]

I swear, people in this thread are more concerned about this eruption than anyone in Iceland. The news is keeping up with new developments, but they're just little blurbs and the people all just talk about how cool it is. There's not a drop of fear in the air, it's kind of funny.

Well, I found this news on CNN. Northen Europe stopping all comerical air travel si kinda big news.

That being said, I watched this live, and wasn't scared either (But I had to use clothing in my mouth for a few days).