Volcanic ash cloud cripples Britain, apparently...

[Zulu Romeo]

Eyjafjallajökull: the gift that keeps on giving:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8631144.stm

A new ash cloud spreading towards the UK is causing uncertainty over plans to reopen some airspace on Tuesday, air traffic control body Nats has said.

Earlier, it said the flight ban would be lifted over Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England.

But Nats said there was now a worsening situation in some areas. The outlook for Northern Ireland is most uncertain.

Scottish airports are still expected to reopen from 0700 BST, but Nats said it would report again at 0300.

A further update will be made at 0900 BST on Tuesday.

Nats said more airspace over England was expected to become available from 1300 BST although not as far south as London's main airports.

So much for my plans to fly out this weekend too, it seems...

 

[Lindley]

Okay, the bit I said before about it being impractical for jets to share the low-altitude spaces with GA traffic.....made sense at the time. But we're getting to the point where they've had time to assess the options. By this point they ought to have imposed a few Temporary Flight Restrictions to keep GA out of particular corridors, and started establishing a few low altitude jet routes.

 

[jmc247]

It's amazing you can sound so certain about this even though nearly everything you have said is completely wrong. Earthquakes are indeed related to plate tectonics, but then it goes off the rails from there. However, volcanic eruptions are not triggered by earthquakes and, with the exception of Iceland and other rift-related volcanism, volcanoes aren't even associated with plate margins or large-scale faulting.

My point was there is rift related volcanism and if you had a period of significant rift movement I believe you would see a fair bit more volcanism around the world. The Earthquakes I was talking about would be simply symptoms of large scale tectonic movement that would trigger both the Earthquakes and increased volcanic activity.

 

[Servo]

It was really funny how all the news correspondants were delivering reports about the dangerous cloud of ash that has brought the UK's air travel industry to a standstill, whilst you could see the clear blue skies in the background.

One can't see oxygen, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. As is the case here.

I was commenting on the humorous contrast caused by the news of a deadly "cloud of volcanic ash" being reported against a backdrop of clear blue skies. I'm fully aware that the ash can't be seen.

Honestly, some people just want to feel like they're the smartest person in the room.

 

[Deckerd]

I sometimes think Servo issuing a rebuke is redundant when you take into account his avatar.

 

[Servo]

Hehe, it does rather get the point across for me, doesn't it?

 

[Count Zero]

Okay, the bit I said before about it being impractical for jets to share the low-altitude spaces with GA traffic.....made sense at the time. But we're getting to the point where they've had time to assess the options. By this point they ought to have imposed a few Temporary Flight Restrictions to keep GA out of particular corridors, and started establishing a few low altitude jet routes.

They do that in some places. In Germany, some airlines have received a special clearance for visual flight (below the clouds). The pilots' union has criticised this because it leaves the pilots with the burden whether to fly or not. In any case, it's sort of risky (thankfully, the weather is fantastic here at the moment). This method of flight also uses up significantly more fuel.
It seems, though, that in most countries, air travel is very slowly normalising. Only few countries still have completely closed air space.

 

[Iasius]

So, anyone hear the one about how the UK sent Iceland a sternly worded latter about being sick of the holdup over the Icesave thing and demanded they send the cash immediately?

Damn typos.

 

[trampledamage]

^^

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Britain is open again:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8633597.stm

All UK airports have been given the go-ahead to reopen, the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has said.

He added that, following six days of disruption, it would be up to airlines to bring schedules back on track.

The statement was delivered after consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority and a reassessment of the risk to aircraft from volcanic ash.

Some restrictions will remain in place, but they will be much smaller than had previously been enforced.

Incidentally, this is how you say it:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEEXY6HrQ6Y[/yt]

LOL, Merkel...

 

[Lindley]

Lord Adonis? Seriously?

 

[trampledamage]

Lord Adonis? Seriously?

Yeah, the current Labour government has been infiltrated by the Goa'uld

 

[cultcross]

Lord Adonis? Seriously?

Yup. Another unelected Lord on the cabinet. Good old power-to-the-working-people Labour. Adonis is actually his surname, as well.

 

[Deckerd]

The Ash Backlash is gathering momentum, with Willie Whatsisface fae BA whining about huge needless losses and some stupid twat from the Tory back benches blaming the government for not doing test flights through ash clouds before this completely avoidable, needless, disruption.

If anything, I think the general public rather admire the way the PM called a COBRA meeting and then sent the RN to pick up stranded holidaymakers. Coming home on a warship. The little boy the press managed to picture will never lose the utter utter coolness he's going to bask in at school.

 

[Pingfah]

^ I saw some Conservative spokesperson on the beeb this morning, she concluded that because it had transpired that perhaps it is possible to fly with small amounts of volcanic ash in the atmosphere that this was "proof", her words, that the government had made the wrong decision in keeping planes on the ground for so long.

When asked directly if, in light of that statement, the Conservatives would have lifted the flight ban earlier, suddenly it's "not useful to discuss hypotheticals".

 

[cultcross]

^ I saw some Conservative spokesperson on the beeb this morning, she concluded that because it had transpired that perhaps it is possible to fly with small amounts of volcanic ash in the atmosphere that this was "proof", her words, that the government had made the wrong decision in keeping planes on the ground for so long.

When asked directly if, in light of that statement, the Conservatives would have lifted the flight ban earlier, suddenly it's "not useful to discuss hypotheticals".

I'm suddenly surprised it took so long for the Lib Dems to surge in this election

 

[John Picard]

^ I saw some Conservative spokesperson on the beeb this morning, she concluded that because it had transpired that perhaps it is possible to fly with small amounts of volcanic ash in the atmosphere that this was "proof", her words, that the government had made the wrong decision in keeping planes on the ground for so long.

When asked directly if, in light of that statement, the Conservatives would have lifted the flight ban earlier, suddenly it's "not useful to discuss hypotheticals".

http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=4008660&postcount=115

The Ash Backlash has begun.

The airlines have done test flights, landed safely and have proved it's safe.

Not the best definition ever of 'proved', really. I can stick a knife in my toaster to unclog it and not get shocked, so that must be safe as well.

OK, it's a bit heavy handed grounding all flights, but if the airlines are thinking they're losing business now, imagine the response if they ignored safety warnings, flew anyway, and crashed.

And this will further show the stupidity of the human race, in general. Air travelers are furious and frustrated at not being able to travel, and the governments are exercising caution. The airlines are losing money and want to prove the planes can fly without experiencing any kind of damage.

It's a Catch-22: 1) Let the planes fly, and if one crashes *WHAM* people will scream, holler, and yell that the government should have held its ground, or 2) Keep the planes grounded until the ash has cleared while people are furious that flights aren't allowed and the airlines continue to lose money.

I love armchair experts in the media. Like I said earlier, it's a no-win.

 

[Lindley]

The thing I'm curious about is why this doesn't happen more often. Volcanic ash SIGMETs aren't that uncommon. Was it just the widely dispersed nature of this particular cloud?

 

[Iasius]

This is just speculation on my part, but as far as I understand it, the height which an eruption column reaches could be important. If a strong eruption sends ash mostly into the stratosphere, air travel isn't interrupted much since planes fly lower. It may just be the case that this eruption put a lot of ash into the atmosphere precisely at altitudes where air travel is impacted most.

 

[trekkiedane]

This is just speculation on my part, but as far as I understand it, the height which an eruption column reaches could be important. If a strong eruption sends ash mostly into the stratosphere, air travel isn't interrupted much since planes fly lower. It may just be the case that this eruption put a lot of ash into the atmosphere precisely at altitudes where air travel is impacted most.

Indeed, which is why some areas were open for air travel below 3 Km and above 8 Km... the ash was only a problem if you had to go through that, but it's more a question about atmospheric dynamics than the actual eruption afaik.