Icelandic volcano erupts

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jh7lQ-qBxQMPzPd3Iap7_s3YDBfQD9F3PH9O0

The volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier has erupted, spewing out unholy amounts of ash and shutting down air travel in northwest Europe. At this point, I cannot find any reports on possible fatalities in Iceland. The glacier is in the southwestern area of the island, and winds are moving the ash cloud away from Reykjavík.

This will hurt the country even more; as it is already experiencing the largest emigration in history due to a shredded economy.

VIDEO:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/weather-15749664/19206134

At least they're doing their part to combat global warming!

david_a said:

At least they're doing their part to combat global warming!

A-HAHAHAHA!

david_a said:

At least they're doing their part to combat global warming!

Global dimming FTW!

"Deliberate manipulation of this dimming effect is now being considered as a geoengineering technique to reduce the impact of global warming."

It's kind of interesting that some experts have gone on record as saying that they have no way of knowing if this will stop in the foreseeable future. This could cripple Europe for months, for all we know. If it goes on for that long, though...yeah, it could end up with a case of global dimming or something fun like that.

EDIT: Apparently, the volcano is 1,666 m high. :|

The first thing I was reminded of when I heard of the eruption is this movie.

Danarchy said:

EDIT: Apparently, the volcano is 1,666 m high. :|

Mt. Eyjafjallajökull DooM?

Well shucks. I've missed my plane to Aberdeen now.

Guess I'd better go play golf then!

Danarchy said:

something fun like that.

That required one of the largest known eruptions in human history (if not the largest one) though.

My flight home is cancelled because of this. So i have to stay in switzerland this weekend.

Danarchy said:

It's kind of interesting that some experts have gone on record as saying that they have no way of knowing if this will stop in the foreseeable future. This could cripple Europe for months, for all we know.

Which conveniently benefits those who want us to stop flying.

GreyGhost said:

Mt. Eyjafjallajökull DooM? Erebus

Heh, will this will disprove the "chemtrail" conspiracy theorists. No white lines across the sky and yet nobod - wait a minute! The goverment has been taking us all for a ride! I see it all so clearly now!

Oh wait, i saw it years ago.

40oz said:
Mt. Eyjafjallajökull DooM? Erebus

Too late!

Nah, I've been to both Mt Erebus and Eyjafjallajökull, and they're not very similar.

Two of the pictures I posted here (and that are still on imageshack) are from the area near this volcano. The beach at Vik has been voted among the world's ten most beautiful. I don't know whether or how Vik has been affected, but some flooding is surely possible. The Seljalandsfoss waterfall is around the edge of the volcano's plateau.

The region around this volcano is sparsely populated. I heard that 800 people had been evacuated, which implies quite a large area.

I'm due to get married 25 miles from Eyjafjallajökull in June, so it is a little worrying (we didn't order fireworks...). It's not in a place (direction-wise in terms of mud flow or flooding) you'd expect to be threatened by the volcano unless it becomes a lot more violent though. Flights are obviously a concern though, especially with the honeymoon planned for Svalbard.

As for effects on climate, this is a tiny tiny eruption compared with those (like Pinatubo, for instance) that can have a major impact. It's making such headlines because it happens to be so close to major flight paths and because the path of the jet stream is taking the ash into some of the world's busiest airspace.

Nice sunny spring day in Aberdeenshire today.

There was nothing (well apart from the sun) in the skies above Cambridgeshire today, no high altitude white trails and not even the low-flying practice planes that are normally a constant feature over the city. Was a little spooky somehow...

It was a beautiful sunset today but at the moment that's as far as this eruption goes aside from the air traffic chaos.

nothing cool like that happens around here, save for religious wackos starting cults.

Graf Zahl said:

It was a beautiful sunset today but at the moment that's as far as this eruption goes aside from the air traffic chaos.

We're also getting colourful sunsets but that's largely due to Forestry Tasmania's "regeneration" burning.

Another nice day today. I did hear some people claiming that they hated going outside due to the horrible smell of sulphur. These people are either hysterical, liars or both. There isn't even a hint of sulphur. Stupid people.

Heh, yeah, nice clear blue skies. The only sulphur I smelt was on Friday near the school toilets...

Nice sunny day with clear blue skies in Gothenburg Sweden here today.
I did smell barbecue yesterday. But I doubt the volcanoe comes with it's own hot sauce.

kristus said:

Nice sunny day with clear blue skies in Gothenburg Sweden here today.
I did smell barbecue yesterday. But I doubt the volcanoe comes with it's own hot sauce.

Unless the local virgin sacrifice comes with a BBQ afterwards.

Nothing in Finland either. I heard the snow in far north got a bit dirty after the previous volcano eruption, but that's all.

kristus said:

Nice sunny day with clear blue skies in Gothenburg Sweden here today.
I did smell barbecue yesterday. But I doubt the volcanoe comes with it's own hot sauce.

Yo, you're in Gothenburg?

Yes. Been living here for a couple of years now. So is Gemini actually (I think he's still here anyway).

Captain Toenail said:

Heh, yeah, nice clear blue skies. The only sulphur I smelt was on Friday near the school toilets...

If that's Inverurie academy, I'm convinced that the toilets there are a direct portal to the layer of the excremental Golgothan shit demon. There is something very, very wrong in those toilets (especially the one by maths).

An NBC correspondent took a helicopter ride over the eruption; the blog entry is at http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/18/2273527.aspx

And here is a video from ABC of the volcano itself.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/weather-15749664/19206134

A volcano beneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl)

LMAO at pronunciation guide. Can anyone actually say that?