Eyjafjallajoekull ash plume and lightning

Eyjafjallajoekull ash plume and lightning Saturday 17 April 2010

Eyjafjallajoekull in southern Iceland erupted on 20 March 2010, with a second eruption starting under the center of small glacier on 14 April 2010. Neither eruption was unusually powerful. The second eruption melted a large amount of glacial ice which then cooled and fragmented lava into gritty glass particles that were carried up with the rising volcanic plume.

The dust cloud in the upper atmosphere drifted over northern Europe closing airspace for several days. Closure of airspace could last for weeks, months, years.

Gaia: Volcanoes effect climate, which in turn triggers volcanoes and earthquakes. Without volcanoes there would be no atmosphere. Ecosystems are dependent on the atmosphere. Without ecosystems there would be nothing to maintain the atmosphere. Mars has no molten core, no volcanoes. Mars has no atmosphere. Whether Mars has lifeforms is a moot point.

also see

UK airspace closed
Gaia strikes back
‘Tiny’ climate changes may trigger quakes
The Gaia Atlas of Planet Management

UK airspace closed!

Eyjafjallajoekull eruption NASA Terra Satellite at 1139 GMT Thursday 15 April 2010

1200 BST Thursday 15 April 2010 UK airspace was closed, all flights grounded. 0830 BST Friday 16 April 2010 the ban on flights was extended until 0100 BST Saturday 17 April 2010 with the likelihood of the ban being extended into the weekend.

Closure of UK airspace is unprecedented. The cause being the eruption of a volcano in Iceland which is spewing dust into the upper atmosphere. Were this dust to be ingested by jet engines it was would damage the engines.

Across northern Europe airspace has been closed and flights grounded. Which begs the question why a flight was allowed to take off from Farnborough Airport midmorning today (approximately 1030 BST)?

Never a pleasant experience at the best of times, passengers at airports have been subjected to indefinite delay.

For people living in close proximity to an airport it has been unexpected peace and quiet. Bliss.

The closure of UK airspace has served to highlight how dependent the UK has become on aviation, in particular airfreight, especially so-called fresh fruit and vegetables, for example green beans from Kenya.

The Eyjafjallajoekull eruption was the second in Iceland in less than a month.

see

Iceland volcano: UK flights grounded for second day