Posted on 04/16/2010 8:12:07 AM PDT by RogerFGay
The spread of ash from the active volcano in Iceland is expected to get worse over the weekend. It is already creating chaos, shutting down British air traffic and disrupting Scandinavian.Click through to article for YouTube videos and live feed from Iceland.
(Excerpt) Read more at mensnewsdaily.com ...
Wait! Normal clouds will show up on radar, but a cloud of ash and dust from a volcano doesn’t show up? I find that a tad bit hard to believe.
Flights cancelled into and out of Britain and Scandinavia and mysteriously the world seems to be a better place.. much less bull sperm going around in the newspapers and a generally feeling of well being..
Neither can the plumes caused by sandstorms although the sand is carried to 36,000 feet and sometimes spread all the way from Africa to Florida. If it is not dense enough to be seen, doesn't seem to be much of a threat. Of the hundreds of aircraft that have flown in and around volcanic ash plumes the few reporting issues were in high density concentrations.
Yes. Global temperatures will drop and next winter will be wetter than this past winter in many places. The last time this volcano erupted (early 1800’s) New Jersey had a record snowfall. Of course, other areas will experience drought conditions.
Yup, I was thinking the same thing. I don’t know about Ben Mugged, but I certainly don’t want to be traveling on an airplane that encounters volcanic ash.
“Hey Hon! Look out the window. It looks like the engines have stopped!”
That is what is being reported. The news folks said it was because radar reflects off water and not off ash. Wouldn't surprise me, radar is temperamental about what it "sees".
I was reading the comments on another forum where there are a large percentage of English and European responders. One of the comments caught my eye. It seems the air in England and northern Europe is extremely clear even though the volcano is spitting stuff out. The visible portion of the plume seems to be going north of England and in the direction of Norway.
Several people have commented on how clear the sky is and are attributing that to the fact no airplanes are flying. And so they are rather glad the airports are shut down because their air is so much cleaner. Don't they realize that volcano will spit more garbage into the sky in one day the one year of airplanes flying?
And nobody that I have found has asked what is the carbon footprint of the volcano.
Globally, such as the winds are in the northern latitudes, 70N would seem to be the area that would be effected this summer and onwards. The southern Hemisphere should be protected by normal earth rotation and wind patterns.
I’m thinking that the main ash cloud should be visible to radar due to the density of the cloud. I could understand that the edges of the cloud would not be visible. But, then, just avoid the main cloud.
Al Gore: "What? Volcanoes have a carbon footprint? We must regulate them!"
About flying through a volcano plume — it really is dangerous. Much of what a volcano spews is silica. It doesn’t show up on radar and you can’t see it. Fly through at 500 mph and it’s like getting sandblasted. It has been known to remove the paint from airliners...
Radar "sees" by reflecting off an object. Could be that this material "absorbs" the radar energy rather than reflecting it and therefore would not be seen by the radar receiver. Same way radar absorbent material on stealth fighters works.
Sand is also silica and sandstorms over North Africa dump many tons of the stuff into the atmosphere between Africa and the Caribbean. Aircraft fly through it all the time although the density is low. I don't think it is the presence of silica in the atmosphere but the density of silica that creates the problem.
I suppose that’s possible. But, with satellite imagery they can see the path of the ash cloud. Should be able to reroute flights based upon that.
I agree. Avoid high density concentrations and flight is safe. Reroute the airliners to a more southerly route and get on with life.
Still searching for any projections on the movement of these ash clouds. i.e. Will they just fall to earth or circle the globe and affect all air travel.
I cannot imagine this stuff is healthy to breathe, especially for asthmatics and COPD patients. Remembering Mt. Helens and the gas masks.
The ash not only affects the engines, but the larger particles act like sandpaper on the windshield making it clouded - a modern jetliner travels at approximately 900 KPH so it does not take much grit in the clouds to make a mess.
Many instruments are also damaged by the even smaller particles - not to mention the engine damage.
Touche. I worked several years in airline ground ops, but I'm not a pilot. Perhaps you can educate me then.
Obstacles to your plan, as I see it:
-All eastbound flights would have to leave the US at dawn in order to make Europe by dusk, given 8-ish hours in the air and 5-ish hours of time zone change, depending on the cities.
Leaving the US at dawn would make it impossible for passengers connecting into the international hub city (the majority of the international passengers) to catch the international flight, since flights don't leave the "spoke" cities at 3am.
-The aircraft would have to overnight in Europe, since it would not be able to get back past Iceland before dark, thus reducing each aircraft to doing a one-way trip per day instead of the current round-trip per day.
Beyond these logistical issues, is it really acceptable to just take off and figure you'll "find a way around it" by sight? Is the plume small enough to fly around, or do you have to make sure you pass Iceland on the right side so you don't get stuck on the north/south side of the plume?
I'm not sure anyone's saying that it's impossible to fly A plane to or from Europe right now (after all, AF1 is planning to make the trip). But the obstacles involved for anything resembling normal airline operations seem quite high.
Back to your resume - how much experience do you have making an airline run smoothly?
I’d really hate to be in Iceland, or to the east of Iceland, and trying to fly home right now.
Are helicopters affected - or do those blades blow the ash away?
Don’t laugh;) It’s a serious question;)
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