. Earth Science News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Iceland's volcano sends more ash towards Europe

Irish airports to re-open but ash threat remains
Dublin (AFP) May 7, 2010 - Airports in western Ireland re-opened earlier than expected on Friday but the country's airspace watchdog warned ash from an Icelandic volcano continued to pose a risk. On Thursday the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said six airports would close from midnight (2300 GMT) until 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) Friday, but it eased restrictions and allowed flights in and out at least three hours earlier. The airports hit were Shannon, Donegal, Sligo, Ireland West (Knock), Galway and Kerry. Dublin, Waterford and Cork airports in the east had been unaffected.

The IAA said a "massive ash cloud" 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) long and 700 miles wide remained off the west coast. "While the northerly winds are keeping the bulk of the cloud out in the Atlantic, the increased size of the cloud continues to pose a risk especially if the winds change," the agency warned. The shutdown was the third to hit Ireland this week, after two earlier closures led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and travel misery for thousands of passengers. The fresh disruption came after Europe's skies were closed for up to a week last month following the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano. It was the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II. Volcanic ash can cause serious damage to jet engines.
by Staff Writers
Reykjavik (AFP) May 7, 2010
Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano threatened European skies with a new ash cloud Friday raising the risk of more flight cancellations, officials said.

"Renewed and more intensive ash eruptions took place overnight and as a result, the area of potential higher ash contamination is forecast to extend from Iceland as far south as the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula during the day," Eurocontrol, the European intergovernmental air traffic control coordinator, said.

"Lava has stopped running from the crater and the eruption is now again an explosive eruption," Icelandic geologist Bjoern Oddson said.

"When there's more explosive activity, the ash does become finer and if the activity increases, it could possibly cause problems in Europe's airspace," he said, noting "the ash is spreading to the south-east" of Iceland.

Late Thursday, Icelandic meteorologists and geophysicists warned Eyjafjoell would emit a larger ash cloud after renewed activity, though Oddson said it had stabilised overnight.

"Right now, we're not seeing nearly as much ash fall as in the first few days of the eruption", which paralysed European flight traffic for a week from April 14, he said.

The ash, at sufficient concentrations, poses a hazard for plane engines.

According to the Brussels-based Eurocontrol, the areas where the volcanic ash concentration were likely to exceed engine tolerance levels were to the west of north-west Europe.

"Transatlantic flights are being re-routed south of the affected area which could cause delays to these flights."

The ash cloud was predicted to reach up to 35,000 feet (some 10,500 metres), far higher than in recent days and thus affecting more overflying planes.

The cloud caused Ireland to shut its airspace from 2300 GMT on Thursday to 1200 GMT Friday, the third closure in as many days.

The Faroe Islands, a Danish territory in the North Atlantic, also shut airspace from Thursday night until at least 0000 GMT Saturday.

The Portuguese air traffic agency NAV said ash was expected in the country's airspace north of Lisbon later Friday but would have a limited effect, causing only some rerouting.

Last month the Icelandic volcanic caused travel chaos, with airspaces closed over several European nations.

It was the biggest aerial shutdown in Europe since World War II, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled and eight million passengers affected. The airline industry said it lost some 2.5 billion euros.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


SHAKE AND BLOW
Icelandic volcano spewing more ash: experts
Reykjavik (AFP) May 5, 2010
Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano spewed more ash on Tuesday than in recent days, but the level remained much lower than when the eruption began three weeks ago, Icelandic geophysicists said. "The plume has increased. It is black... There is more ash in the plume and it is (rising) higher," Sigrun Hreinsdottir of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik told AFP Wednesday. But "this is only abo ... read more







The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement