Sat, Nov 06, 2004
Spectacular eruption on Monday sends thick ash and smoke
towards central Europe
The Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland has erupted under Vatnajokull
glacier, the nation's largest, and the resulting ash and smoke has
forced airlines worldwide to divert flights so as not to fly
through the gases produced by the blast. The volcano erupted on
Monday, and is producing a steady flow of ash and lava. Explosions
related to the eruption have sent ash up to FL400, bringing back
memories of the Mt. St. Helens explosion in the US, which also sent
ash and smoke well up into the flight levels.
Scientists are theorizing that the eruption was caused by a
drainage of a lake that sits under the glacier. Pressure increased
as the water drained, allowing magma to make it to the service.
Thankfully, the volcano's location is away from populated areas and
no one is at risk at this time.
Oli Thor Arnarsson, of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, says
that changes in the wind patterns over the area might send the
cloud of ash into central Europe. "We are speculating that the
eruption should be clear tomorrow. But if there are more eruptions,
we may have ash over central Europe," said Arnarsson to the
Associated Press.
As a result of the
eruption and ash cloud, KLM has cancelled 59 flights, leaving
hundreds of passengers stranded at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
"Because of company rules we can't fly below it and we can't fly
above it," said airport spokesman Frank Houben. Visibility is not
the big problem, but rather the abrasive nature of the ash, which
can cause damage to jet engines and in some cases suffocate them,
causing flameouts.
"It's the equivalent of sandblasting an aircraft engine with
grit," said Dr Matthew J Roberts of the Icelandic Meteorological
Office in Reykjavik, Iceland, to the BBC. "As the aeroplane draws
in large quantities of air, suspended particles cause abrasion
inside the engine that can result in the aircraft stalling."
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