Latest Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Stories

Improving Volcanic Ash Forecasts For Aviation Safety
2013-10-26 05:29:46

April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Frequent travelers can agree that flight delays are all too familiar these days. NASA is looking into a potentially dangerous, though much less frequent, problem that has recently caused major disruptions in flight schedules: volcanic eruptions. Ash and tiny, jagged particles are expelled from explosive volcanic eruptions. These particulates can be blown thousands of miles away from their source and are dangerous to airplanes,...

The Smell Of Grímsvötn
2012-09-05 12:11:57


2011-05-24 14:55:00

About 500 flights were grounded on Tuesday after ash from an Icelandic volcano moved its way through Britain and towards northern Europe. The clouds caused flights in and out of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland to be cancelled. British Airways led the way in canceling flights as the ash-cloud from the Grimsvötn volcano spread eastwards. "Approximately 500 flights were cancelled from the approximately 29,000 that would have been expected today across Europe," said a...

2011-05-24 09:18:33

As Iceland's GrÃƒ­msvötn volcano spews ash high into the atmosphere, satellite observations are providing essential information to advisory centers assessing the possible hazards to aviation. The GrÃƒ­msvötn volcano in southeast Iceland, which had been dormant since 2004, started erupting in the evening of 21 May. As a consequence, the country's airspace has been closed. Memories are still fresh of the chaos caused by the Eyjafjallajoekull eruption...

2010-11-15 14:20:03

Since its latest series of deadly eruptions, Java's Mt Merapi has been spewing volcanic ash clouds into the air. Satellite data are crucial for assessing the eruption's danger to air traffic and public safety. Mt Merapi began erupting on 26 October and has killed more than 200 people. Numerous international flights in and out of the Indonesia area have been cancelled due to ash clouds. Flying through such clouds is a threat to safety because the damaging particles can lead to engine...

2010-10-29 06:03:26

Twin volcanoes on Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula erupted on Thursday, pumping massive ash clouds miles into the air, diverting flights and covering nearby towns in thick, heavy ash. The Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the highest active volcano in Eurasia, exploded along with the Shiveluch volcano 45 miles to the northeast, said officials with the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's Kamchatka branch. No injuries were reported, but flights...

2010-05-28 10:25:10

Following the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano that spewed huge amounts of ash and grounded numerous flights, more than 50 experts from around the world gathered at a workshop organized by ESA and EUMETSAT to discuss what has been learned and identify future opportunities for volcanic ash monitoring. The experts included meteorologists, ground-based, air-borne and Earth-observation specialists and modelers. While scientists and researchers shared information about the...

2010-05-11 11:39:34

Some German airlines leveled their criticism against the forecasts of the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in London on the spread of the ash cloud over Europe, as these forecasts did not provide any precise information on the ash concentration in the atmosphere. Scientists at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht managed to reconstruct the spread process and make statements on the concentration of ash particles. As a result of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökul,...

2010-04-19 15:20:00

NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites fly around the world every day capturing images of weather, ice and land changes. Over the last three days these satellites have provided visible and infrared imagery of the ash plume from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. Eyjafjallajökull is pronounced similar to "EYE-a-fyat-la-yu-goot," and it is still spewing ash into the atmosphere. Volcanic eruptions are important sources of gases, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and volcanic ash (aerosols)...

2010-04-16 15:15:00

Thousands of planes are grounded across Europe due to the spread of volcanic ash following the recent eruption under Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull glacier. Volcanic eruptions eject large amounts of ash and trace gases such as sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, often reaching the altitudes of scheduled flights. When flying through a volcanic ash cloud, ash particles enter the jet engines which can result in engine failure. The ash can also severely damage the material of the aircraft, clog its...

Latest Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Reference Libraries

2005-05-25 10:36:46

Volcanic ash is the term for very fine rock and mineral particles less than 2 mm in diameter that are ejected from a volcanic vent. Ash is created when solid rock shatters and magma separates into minute particles during explosive volcanic activity. The usually violent nature of an eruption involving steam (phreatic eruption) results in the magma and perhaps solid rock surrounding the vent, being torn into particles of silt to sand size. The plume that is often seen above an erupting volcano...

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