Icelandic eruption and the weather

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Thought it might be interesting to start a thread on this.
eruption in iceland

It seems to be a fissure eruption and after some reading this afternoon I think it is unlikely at the moment to be putting up large quantities of ash into the atmosphere, this sort of eruption does not seem to be the explosive sort. If it starts to, then we could see some particularly spectacular sunsets.

Worries are though that it might trigger Katla volcano which could be potentially pretty devestating, not only to Iceland but also could affect weather on a global scale. Large eruptions have historically caused global cooling and influenced weather patterns.

hopefully fears end up being unfounded

This site shows all the flights going over Greenland at the moment to avoid the ash cloud (site takes a few seconds to start and can be a bit slow.)

lol! No, sorry meant the start of the week, I got carried away....

manky. I think you could potentially be right.

petunia - what a long way round!!!

I have just been looking at this and thinking of posting, then I saw this thread, will have a read - the Eyjafjallajokull effect might be happening already?

Scotland is freezing, we have a high of 6 degrees forecast all day - I still haven't put my winter clothes away - are we goingg to have one of the coldest summers on record?

FiveOrange- I thought I read on another site that this eruption won't affect the weather. I know what you mean though; we're forecast to have 10C today and 0C tonight; that's chilly for the time of year! Maybe we've just got used to having mild winters and spring beginning early, the last couple of years!

There's some good webcam pictures going on at the moment; here and here at the moment with lots of ash being produced. There's also lots of tremors occuring all over the place. It's suddenly become very active.

Seismic activity has certainly picked up a lot over the last 4 hours, earlier this morning there had only been one or two recorded.

FiveOrange, I don't think this volcano has erupted enough sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere to cause climate issues, although I could be wrong. This volcano is only erupting at VE2 level, and I think it needs to be bigger than that. Although obviosly if activity increases that may change (I think).I think Katla has a history of VE4/5 though, so that could definetly cause problems, as could Hekla.

It's hard to tell, is some of the increases acrivity today near Katla?

Wow I checked the web page with the tremor activity earlier and there was only one red dot on Eyjafjallajokull !

I can't work out where Katla is! I know it's somewhere around/under the Myrdalsjokull area. If it's around (or is!) that black triangle there, one of those red dots is a little too close for comfort!

That's what I thought too Petunia.

I think historically Katla tends to go 3-6 mths after this one, so will be worth watching.

5orange. This particular volcano shouldn't affect our climate as the ash isnt high enough or dense enough. However the very unusual weather pattern that is bringing the ash south is also what is giving us our cold northerlies. It is a pattern that hasnt changed much all through the winter. very odd.

intrigued by the timing of this bbc article not sure if it is speculation or preparation!

bugger

goes back to our concern when airspace was initially re-opened.

It does.

I would not have expected Ryan Air to be the first to admit it though.

I don't like these words "The planes had flown in UK airspace which was open and unrestricted at the time" together with the view from the spokesman that "there was no risk and no cause for concern." I'm finding I am concerned! They found ash, even if it was the tiniest trace amount, when airspace was open as normal!

Looks like the ash can be seen on Hekla's webcam at the moment (grey cloud over on the right.)

I'm not happy with that either Petunia, I suppose it does show that at least they are doing engine inspections.

alarming earthquake increase

That's true (about the engine checks.) That's quite an increase in the number of earthquakes; it shows just how many there have been today!

It shows how much the ash cloud is mucking about with the Atlantic flights; I was talking to my next door neighbour this afternoon. He flew from Chicago to Heathrow Saturday night and the detour they had to take up round Greenland, added 3 hours to the journey. The pilot (rather un-reassuringly I thought!) said that they were going into "unknown territory", because they don't normally fly so far north! He also said that they could see the ash from the volcano as they went round Iceland (neighbour didn't go over that side of the plane to look. Think he missed a once in a lifetime experience there!)

I can't believe your neighbour didnt go for a look!!!
3 hour extra trip

dhs flight managed to be right in the middle of the planned ba flights. so he's managed to get work to change them to another carrier. He won't be impressed with the extra flight time!

It really is beginning to look like we may have to reasses how we view air travel, at least in the short term.

new ash prediction model (blatantly nicked from another forum!)

Looks like Trans Atlantic air travel could be delayed for a while then.

Looking at the webcams, it seems to be a lovely day in Iceland at the moment, and the volcano is still going strong. Really clear webcam pictures at the moment.

How could someone not bother to have a look (everyone should be as obsessed with natural phenomena as we are!)?

I once flew over Greenland for some reason or other and it's an amazing sight if there's no cloud, all glaciers and mountains. It also gives you a great chance of seeing the northern lights if it's dark.

that must have been amazing Chaotica!

Kind of a pity its not winter, else all transtlantic flights would be getting a free northern lights tour!

If it were winter, I think DP would be booking a transatlantic flight right now (he's jealous that I got to see Greenland and the northern lights). (Even better if you get to see a volcano too.)

BTW while we're on the subject. If you're ever lucky enough to be flying to Crete on a clear day, Santorini is amazing too. You can really see that its just a crater in the sea.

In light of the ryanair aircraft I'm quite surprised they are easing restrictions further:
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