Widespread Flight Disruptions as Icelandic Volcano Erupts

Thousands of flights have been cancelled as a continuing eruption from an Icelandic volcano spewed an ash cloud into the air, covering a wide swath of Europe on Thursday. Experts are concerned that the eruption could last for months.

The last time Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted, the eruption lasted more than a year, from December 1821 until January 1823. The last time such widespread disruption of air traffic occurred, it was a manmade event: 9/11. It is, however, not the first time air traffic has been halted by a volcano.

The disruptions to air traffic occur because volcanic ash is highly dangerous to aircraft. Besides the obvious, which is that they affect visibility, the particles that make up volcanic ash can block pitot tubes, be sucked into engines, shutting them down, and damage the leading edge of many forward facing surfaces of the aircraft.

An airplane flies because the wings are in the shape of an airfoil, which (in short) means pressure over the top surface of the wing is lower than below the wing, providing lift. If the shape of the wing is altered, such as when ice builds up on it, or if the leading edge is damaged, a plane may no longer be able to stay aloft.

While the eruption itself may continue for weeks or months, if the weather is favorable, air travel may resume. Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office said, "It is likely that the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks. But where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather. It depends how the wind carries the ash."

Meanwhile, in Iceland, hundreds of people were forced to flee rising floodwaters since. The volcano is under a glacier of the same name, and the eruption caused waters to flow down the mountainside, forcing rivers to rise up to 10 feet by Wednesday night.

Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com

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