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(Reuters) - There's something to be said for going out with a bang. Two Alabama game wardens have devised a smoking send-off for avid hunters and gun enthusiasts: For a small fee, the pair will turn cremated ashes into ammunition that the deceased's loved ones can fire at will. Holy Smoke LLC has serviced only two clients since launching in July, but founders Thad Holmes and Clem Parnell said they have seen an uptick in prearrangements thanks to word-of-mouth and a recent flurry of international press. "It's about celebrating life," Holmes, a 16-year state conservation officer, said on Friday. "We...

SYDNEY (AP) — Asian and African night owls were treated to a lunar eclipse, and ash in the atmosphere from a Chilean volcano turned it blood red for some viewers. The Sydney Observatory said the eclipse was to begin at 3:25 a.m. Thursday (1:25 p.m. EDT, 5:25 p.m. GMT Wednesday) and last until after 5 a.m. Scientists said the specific phenomenon happening Thursday — known as a "deep lunar eclipse" — often exudes a coppery color. But the intensity of the color depends on the amount of ash and dust in the atmosphere. Luckily for moon-gazers, there was plenty of...

Tens of thousands of passengers in Australia and New Zealand were stranded when airlines suspended flights Sunday as an ash cloud from an erupting volcano in southern Chile spread, threatening to damage engines. Australia's national carrier, Qantas Airways, said all the airline's flights in and out of the southeastern city of Melbourne would be grounded. Other carriers including Virgin Australia and discount airlines Jetstar and Tiger similarly suspended flights. Up to 30,000 passengers in New Zealand and Australia found themselves stuck, according to airlines' estimates. Sunday afternoon, frustrated travelers lined up in airports and looked for last-minute accommodation. Hotels near...

The largest fossil spider uncovered to date once ensnared prey back in the age of dinosaurs, scientists find. The spider, named Nephila jurassica, was discovered buried in ancient volcanic ash in Inner Mongolia, China. Tufts of hairlike fibers seen on its legs showed this 165-million-year-old arachnid to be the oldest known species of the largest web-weaving spiders alive today — the golden orb-weavers, or Nephila, which are big enough to catch birds and bats, and use silk that shines like gold in the sunlight. The fossil was about as large as its modern relatives, with a body one inch (2.5...

Icelandic Volcano 'Set To Erupt' Scientists in Iceland are warning that another volcano looks set to erupt and threatening to spew-out a pall of dust that would dwarf last year's event. Lava and ash explode out of the caldera of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano Photo: REUTERS 6:38PM GMT 08 Feb 2011 Geologists detected the high risk of a new eruption after evaluating an increased swarm of earthquakes around the island's second largest volcano. Pall Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, says the area around Bárdarbunga is showing signs of increased activity, which provides "good reason to worry"....

Volcanic Ash To Close London's Heathrow Airport By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer LONDON – Europe's busiest airport was set to close early Monday morning as a dense crowd of volcanic ash drifts across England from Iceland, aviation authorities said. The airspace over London's Heathrow Airport will be closed at 1 a.m. Monday (0000 GMT; 7 p.m. EDT), Britain's National Air Traffic Service said in a statement late Sunday night. The restrictions affecting Heathrow — as well as Gatwick, Stansted, and London City airports — will be in place until at least 7 a.m. Monday, the aviation authority said. Airports...

May 16, 2010 Scientists forecast decades of ash clouds Many more of Iceland’s volcanoes seem to be stirring Iceland could be at the start of a surge in volcanic activity that may produce more eruptions Jonathan Leake and Chris Hastings THE Icelandic eruption that has caused misery for air travellers could be part of a surge in volcanic activity that will affect the whole of Europe for decades, scientists have warned. They have reconstructed a timeline of 205 eruptions in Iceland, spanning the past 1,100 years, and found that they occur in regular cycles — with the relatively quiet phase...

The Ash Cloud Is Shutting Down British Airports Again Gus Lubin May. 15, 2010, 10:18 PM At this point you can call Eyjafjallajokull a protracted economic problem for the UK, if not the rest of Europe. The volcano is still spewing with no end in sight. British transportation authorities have warned they may shut down airspace from Sunday through Tuesday. Daily Mail: The prediction of closures from tomorrow until Tuesday morning is based on continuing volcanic activity in Iceland and prevailing weather conditions. The Department of Transport said: 'Within this time frame, different parts of UK airspace - including airspace...

Iceland's Unstoppable Volcano Could Turn Europe Summer Travel Season To Ash Shawn Pogatchnik, The Associated Press May 13, 2010 08:46:29 AM DUBLIN - It's been a month now, and Iceland's volcano shows no sign it will stop belching ash across Europe anytime soon. The rolling eruptions threaten more havoc for summer vacation plans and higher costs for struggling airlines. Although the global disruption of last month's massive eruption has faded, smaller ash plumes snarled air services intermittently over the last week all the way to Turkey — more than 2,500 miles (4,100 kilometres) from the Eyjafjallajokul (pronounced ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) volcano. Air-control...

Iceland Volcano Update: Europe Flight Delays Continue May 10, 2010 By: Meagan Drillinger TravelAgentCentral Sources are reporting continuing flight delays in Europe as a result of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano eruption in Iceland. According to Examiner.com, two Ryanair jets (Europe's low-cost airline) were found with ash in its engines. Four Ryanair flights were canceled on Sunday, May 9, leaving more passengers in the all-too familiar stranded predicament. British Airways and EasyJet are reporting minimal delays as of this morning, May 10. Eurocontrol told Examiner.com that an expected 28,500 flights were go forward today, around 2 percent below normal levels. As of...

Eyjafjallajökull Ash Wreaking Havoc Across Europe, And It Could Get Even Worse Vincent Fernando, CFA May. 10, 2010, 6:48 AM Be aware that Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull continues to open and shut airports across Europe, causing delays. It's all pretty unpredictable of course, and if you're planning on air travel in the region there's really nothing that can do to avoid this, but just have a back-up plan since anything can happen. Also expect more pain for related industries. Airwise: Trans-atlantic flights remain affected and are required to undergo significant rerouting, leading to some delays, the agency said earlier in a statement....

The Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Ash Is Back With A Vengeance, Will It Ruin Cannes? Joe Weisenthal May. 9, 2010, 9:17 AM Just when you thought this story was long over, the ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano is iceland is back, and flights are being cancelled left and right across Europe. Of course, this is exactly what Europe doesn't need right now, particularly Portugal, caught in the middle of a debt storm and now caught in the middle of this as well. Times Online UK: Today Ryanair announced the cancellation of 178 European flights while easyJet warned of further disruption on routes...

Ash From Iceland Volcano Disrupts Sunday Air TravelMay 9, 2010, 5:54 a.m. EDT TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Fresh plumes of ash from the Iceland volcano again are disrupting Sunday air travel in Europe, media reports say. AFP reported that airspace over France, Italy and Portugal was closed and dozens of flights were cancelled on Sunday. Ash Cloud Closes Spanish AirportsAirports in Spain, Portugal and France closed, or expected to close, after an Icelandic volcano's ash cloud blew south. Trans-Atlantic flights were forced to reroute. Video courtesy of Reuters. Ryanair said in a statement on Sunday that it expects airspace over...

Eyjafjallajökull Is Back And It's About To Spew Another Massive Cloud Again Vincent Fernando, CFA May. 7, 2010, 7:48 AM The Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, that grounded much of Northern Europe's air activity previously, is set to emit a massive new cloud of ash. AFP: A plume of ash measuring up to seven kilometers (more than four miles) high had been detected at the Eyjafjoll volcano, said a statement from the Icelandic Met Office and Institute of Earth Science. "The eruption has changed back to an explosive eruption, lava has stopped flowing and most of the magma gets scattered due to...

Iceland's Ash May Keep Choking Europe's Air Travel By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer Tue May 4, 7:48 pm ET DUBLIN – Iceland's clouds of volcanic ash are menacing European air traffic again, but transport chiefs insisted Tuesday they are learning from last month's crisis and won't let the hard-to-measure emissions ground their continent again. Rising volcanic activity spurred aviation authorities in Ireland, northwest Scotland and the Faeroe Islands to shut down services Tuesday after a two-week hiatus. Their airports reopened several hours later, once the densest ash clouds had passed over their airports and back over the Atlantic. But...

It's Ba-ack: Ireland Closing Air Space Over Volcanic Ash Fears Joe Weisenthal May. 3, 2010, 3:34 PM Again?Daily Mail: Iceland's troublesome volcano is set to cause more havoc for air passengers as ash cloud threatens to shut down airspace over Ireland. Irish flights could be grounded with the ash cloud from Iceland drifting across the country, it emerged tonight. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said information from the Volcanic Ash Advice Centre (VAAC) suggests a 'no-fly zone' may have to be imposed over Ireland tomorrow that may affect Dublin, Shannon and some regional airports. Read more at: The Daily Mail...

Britain's airspace was closed under false pretences, with satellite images revealing there was no doomsday volcanic ash cloud over the entire country. Skies fell quiet for six days, leaving as many as 500,000 Britons stranded overseas and costing airlines hundreds of millions of pounds. Estimates put the number of Britons still stuck abroad at 35,000. However, new evidence shows there was no all-encompassing cloud and, where dust was present, it was often so thin that it posed no risk. The satellite images demonstrate that the skies were largely clear, which will not surprise the millions who enjoyed the fine, hot...

AMSTERDAM – Airlines toted up losses topping $2 billion and struggled to get hundreds of thousands of travelers back home Wednesday after a week of crippled air travel, as questions and recriminations erupted over Europe's chaotic response to the volcanic ash cloud. Civil aviation authorities defended their decisions to ground fleets and close the skies — and later to reopen them — against heated charges by airline chiefs that the decisions were based on flawed data or unsubstantiated fears.

<p>A World Airways cargo jet was grounded in Belgium today and its engines are currently being inspected.</p> <p>Obviously, if volcanic ash is found, or any damage from ash, that could send ripples through the aviation industry.</p> <p>The plane was not diverted: "It landed normally at Ostende, its intended destination," World Airways spokesman Steve Forsyth tells us by email.</p>

NATO officials will not fully confirm a report that several F-16s were damaged by the volcanic ash released from Iceland's, Mount Eyjafjallajökull eruption on April 14, which has caused widespread disruption to air travel across most of Europe. A source at NATO would only confirm that the comments had come from a US diplomat, but did not know which of the nations had been affected. However an official with the European Air Traffic Agency was later to have said that an F-16 from the Belgian Air Force had sustained damage. F-16s from several member states are in Europe participating in...

Mayor Of London Warns: The Ash Flight Ban Could Be INDEFINITE And We Need To Prepare For It Gregory White Apr. 20, 2010, 2:28 PM The Mayor of London Boris Johnson raised the specter of an "indefinite" flight ban for the UK's capital today as he warned the country to prepare for the worst. Johnson said that the UK needs to start thinking realistically about the longer term implications of a ban on air travel, as the risks of flight continue to remain high. He also questioned the legitimacy of the flight ban, noting voices in the aviation industry who...

BA, other airlines seek EU bailout for ash crisis Mon Apr 19, 7:16 am ET LONDON – British Airways says airlines have asked the European Union for financial compensation for the closure of airspace. The British airline says it is losing as much as as 20 million pounds ($30 million) per day since the volcano erupted last week, sending up an ash cloud that has grounded aircraft for five straight days

A senior Western diplomat says several NATO F-16 fighters suffered engine damage after flying through the volcanic ash cloud covering large parts of Europe. The official declined to provide more details on the military flights, except to say that glasslike deposits were found inside the planes' engines after they patroled over European airspace. Last week, two Finnish Air Force F-18 fighter-bombers suffered similar damage while flying through the ash plume that has paralyzed air traffic over much of Europe. Both landed safely, but their jet engines will require expensive overhauls. Volcanic ash tends to stick to a jet engine's interior...

New volcanic Ash Cloud Threatens Attempts To Reopen UK Airspace • Flight ban to stay in place for 'main London airports' • Nats says volcano eruption in Iceland has strengthened • Hopes remain to open Scottish and some English airspace James Meikle, Dan Milmo and Jonathan Haynes guardian.co.uk Monday 19 April 2010 22.26 BST A gradual reopening of UK airspace is in jeopardy tonight after a new cloud of volcanic ash began heading for the UK. Earlier air traffic controllers had said relaxation of the flight ban would be able to begin in Scotland from 7am and later lift across...

Second Volcano, Hekla, Erupting*Joe Weisenthal Apr. 19, 2010, 12:39 PMUpdate: It appears the original reports of a plume are not necessarily consistent with an eruption. For now this seems to be no big deal. And don't miss: 10 dormant volcanoes that could blow and cost the economy billions > Original post: Uh oh, the Icelandic gods are going nuts! Now it appears that a second volcano, Hekla, is erupting, according to Reuters. (via AshAlerts) Click the below image to get taken to a live video feed of Hekla. MSNBC also reports that Icelandic media reported on an icelandic eruption. Remember,...

Eruption From Iceland Volcano Tappering Off, Spewing Less Ash: Experts By Sebastian Smith, AFPApril 19, 2010 7:55 AMThe ash plume of southwestern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano streams southwards over the Northern Atlantic Ocean in a picture taken by a British Geological Survey geologist flying from Reykjavik to Glasgow. The erupting volcano in Iceland sent new tremors on April 19, but the ash plume which has caused air traffic chaos across Europe has dropped to a height of about 2 km (1.2 miles), the Meteorological Office said.Photograph by: Handout, British Geological SurveyREYKJAVIK - Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano has started spewing out less ash,...

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Coming To America: The Big Volcanic Ash Plume Joe Weisenthal Apr. 18, 2010, 9:53 PM The latest images from the London Met Office, via AshAlerts.com, show the ash cloud extending in the direction of North America. No clue yet on whether it will be disruptive. It's certainly something to watch though.[snip]

The Government indicated tonight that the Royal Navy could be used to ferry passengers back to Britain, as the ban on UK flights was extended until at least 7pm tomorrow. The announcements came on the day that international airlines and pilots demanded a relaxation of the no-fly zone which has grounded most flights across northern Europe for the past four days. Forecasters have warned that the cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, in southern Iceland, could remain over Britain until at least the end of next week. The International Air Transport Association has warned that airlines will lose at...

In Europe, the volcanic ash danger travels at high altitudes, but for Iceland's farmers the problem is very much on the ground. Farmers across the region where the volcano erupted this week under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier have been scrambling to protect their herds from inhaling or ingesting the ash, which can cause internal bleeding, long-term bone damage and teeth loss. Near Skogar, south of the volcano, the ash blew down from the mountain, blotting out the sunlight and covering everything - pastures, animals and humans - in a thick, gray paste.

The volcano that errupted this week in Iceland has repercussions beyond Europe: African flower exporters, unable to get their shipments to Europe because of massive flight cancellations, are facing millions of euros in losses. Flower exporting countries like Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia are facing a loss of millions of euros if the ash cloud persists and continues to shut down air traffic to and from Europe. According to the Kenya Flower Council [1], the sector is losing two million dollars a day. “Flowers are spoiling, and also we’ve been forced to incur a lot of expenses to keep the flowers...

Volcanic Ash Relentless As New Tremors Rock Iceland Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:13amBy Omar Valdimarsson REYKJAVIK, April 18 (Reuters) - Powerful tremors from an Icelandic volcano that has been a menace for thousands of travellers worldwide rocked the countryside on Sunday as eruptions hurled a steady stream of ash into the sky. Ash from the volcano drifted southeast towards Europe, sparing the capital Reykjavik and other more populated centres but forcing farmers and their livestock indoors as a blanket of ash fell on the surrounding areas. Iceland's Meterological Office said tremors from the volcano had grown more intense and had...

As the volcano on the island nation of Iceland spews out smoke gray clouds full of ash, people over in north and central Europe scramble to find alternate transportation as air flights are cancelled.

What else can explain the ban of an Israeli ad featuring the Kotel. "The Temple Mount is in our hands.” These six words, radioed by Mordechai “Motta” Gur, commander of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade, to his commander Uzi Narkiss on the third day of the Six Day War, resonate to this day in the Israeli consciousness. These words marked the end of 19 years of Jordanian rule, during which – in brazen disregard for Article VII of the 1949 Armistice Agreement – Jews were forbidden to visit, let alone pray at, the Western Wall. These words also signified the end...

Experts: No End To Volcano Ash In SightApril 17, 2010 (CNN) -- Weather experts predicted Friday that a volcanic ash causing chaos to air traffic across Europe would affect the region well into the weekend and possibly beyond as the dust cloud continued to spread. Scientists said it was too soon to predict when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland would cease spewing ash, raising the prospect of thousands more grounded flights in coming days. Prevailing westerly winds are expected to fan the massive plume of dust from an erupting volcano in Iceland further east and north, according to predictions from...

Virtually all of Europe's major airports remain closed as a huge plume of volcanic ash drifts south and east across the continent from Iceland. Millions of air travellers are stranded as thousands of flights are being cancelled for a third day. The disruption from the spread of ash would continue into Sunday, European aviation agency Eurocontrol said. Airlines are losing some £130m ($200m) a day in an unprecedented shutdown of commercial air travel. "Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash will persist and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," a statement from Eurocontrol...

Volcano Spews More Ash, Spawns Wider Flight Chaos Associated Press Writer Paisley Dodds4-17-2010 LONDON – A lingering volcanic ash plume forced extended no-fly restrictions over much of Europe on Saturday, as Icelandic scientists warned that volcanic activity had increased and showed no sign of abating — a portent of more travel chaos to come. Scientists say that because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines if prevailing winds are right. "The activity has been quite vigorous overnight, causing the...

Volcanic ash consists of tiny fragments of glass which melt at the operating temperature of jet engines. Skip related content Related photos / videos Volcanic ash may damage jet engines Enlarge photo .Sucked into the turbines, they clog up the engines and can shut them down, with potentially disastrous consequences. Hard ash particles can also damage an engine's fan blades, and may cause electrical systems to short-circuit. The sudden loss of power can cause a large passenger aircraft to go into freefall. At the same time the pilot is likely to be flying "blind" because of scratches left on the...

All he needs is an iPad and an electrical outlet to run the country. Norway's prime minister, Jens Stotlenberg is again grounded in New York as volcanic ash from Iceland's tempermental volcano continues to close European airspace, but that didn't stop him from doing the daily business of Norwegian govemernment from his iPad in an airport lounge. Stoltenberg, who traveled from Oslo to participate in President Obama's nuclear summit, was stranded along with many thousands of others and will probably be waiting for at least another day before flights can resume, authorities said Friday. The FAA is working to move...

Airline passengers are facing massive disruption across the UK after an ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded planes. The Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) said no flights would be allowed in or out of UK airspace from midday to 1800BST amid fears of engine damage. Airports operator BAA confirmed all flights at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick would be suspended from midday. And in Scotland, authorities have already shut all their airports. The restrictions, in accordance with international civil aviation policy, were imposed after the Met Office warned ash could clog engines. Passengers were advised to contact their...

Today's subject was inspired by Gunung Karangetang, one of the numerous Indonesian volcanoes that just happens to be percolating a bit right now. In the course of discovering a photostream on Flickr that has a lot of volcano pictures, I also discovered a volcano I never heard of (Mbwelesu on Vanuatu) which has (or had) an active lava lake. Because lava lakes are so rare, and because it's something that I tend to remember, I'm a little peevishly surprised that this one got by me until today. Mr. hshdude doesn't tell us much about himself, so thanks for the pics,...

Selected shots from recently acquired shots of Redoubt. Click for full-size. Image courtesy of Bretwood Higman. Image Creator: Sadler, Tricia Joy Redoubt eruption column, as seen on the way to Kenai from Nikiski. (Image shown full-size.) Picture Date: March 28, 2009 Image Creator: Hagstrom-Sanger, Leigh; Image Creator: Waythomas, Chris Backscattered electron image of amphibole grain in AT-1610 with a thick reaction rim surrounding it. Amphibole is a volcanic mineral that crystallizes in magma that contains some amount of water. As magma moves up toward the surface, it loses water and the amphibole reacts, forming a rim containing plagioclase, pyroxene, and...

Redoubt Volcano has been erupting all day. I am in south Anchorage where ash is falling. 1/8th inch in the last 20 minutes. visibility less than 500 feet. Heavy smell of sulfur in the air. Hunkering down!

In case you haven't heard, Mt. Redoubt in Alaska is in a state of imminent eruption (which means it could happen tomorrow or two months from now, or it might not erupt at all. Odds are it will, though.) So I thought I'd put up a picture from the last eruption, which produced some of the most impressive eruption cloud pictures I've ever seen. The linked page has some Quicktime videos of other eruptions; some of the pyroclastic flow videos are from Unzen and Montserrat.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Mount Redoubt continues to rumble and simmer, prompting geologists to say this Alaska volcano could erupt "within days." Scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been monitoring activity round-the-clock since the weekend. If Mount Redoubt does erupt, it would be the first time this occurred in nearly 20 years. And if won't likely be pretty. History shows that volcanoes in Alaska, including Redoubt, typically erupt explosively, shooting ash almost eight miles high.

Footprints in the ash By Sid PerkinsMay 29th, 2008Humans may have been walking around what is now central Mexico 40,000 years ago HUMAN PRINTSFootprints (one left) left in volcanic ash that fell in central Mexico’s Valsequillo Basin about 40,000 years could be evidence that humans have inhabited the Americas far longer than previously confirmed. Laser scans of the prints (right) confirm their human origins, the researchers report today at the American Geophysical Union meeting. Footprints left in volcanic ash that fell in central Mexico’s Valsequillo Basin about 40,000 years ago are evidence that humans have inhabited the Americas far longer...

Quarter-size; click for full size.

An "unknown" (meaning it hasn't erupted historically) Chilean volcano erupted starting on Friday. The ash clouds are some of the most impressive I've seen since Pinatubo, and have caused the usual problems in nearby areas. Below is a selection. (Because I'm borrowing mainly from news sources, some of these may not work or may cease working in the near future.)

Eruption May Have Been Bigger Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery News Dec. 21, 2006 — One of the largest volcanic eruptions on record just got bigger. The Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand appears to have had twin eruptions only 20 miles apart within days of each other a quarter-million years ago. Each eruption belched out more than 25 cubic miles (100 cubic kilometers) of rock and volcanic ash. This is the first evidence of twin supervolcanic eruptions. "It's possible one of these triggered the other," said geologist Darren Gravley of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. But exactly how the...

Get ready for a ride through the darkest trilogy ever to drip slime on the shelves at your local video store! In "Evil Dead," what was on the necklace that Ash gave to his girlfriend? Cross Magnifying glass Skull Peace sign