In Pictures: The volcanic ash cloud forcing countless delays

by Steve Ragan - Apr 16 2010, 13:25

For the second day in a row, a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland has caused travel delays as it moves across northern and central Europe. The images below are of the cloud, the volcano itself, and the aftermath of the eruption.

The volcano erupted under the Eyjafjoll glacier in southeastern Iceland. As a result, it melted part of the glacier, causing flooding and forcing residents to leave their homes. Scientists say that the volcano has erupted twice now since March 20. It was dormant for almost 200 years before that.

According to many reports, aviation authorities say that it could be Sunday at the earliest before normal flight operations resume, leaving large numbers of business and holiday travelers to seek alternate routes home. In England, flights are expected to resume Saturday morning at the earliest. In all, some 17,000 flights have been canceled, including 65 international flights from U.S. hubs operated by Delta Airlines.

“Airspace is currently not available for operation of civilian aircraft in the following countries/areas: Ireland, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, the north of France including all Paris airports, parts of Germany including Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and the airspace around Frankfurt, parts of Poland including Warsaw airport,” reported Eurocontrol in a status update.

“Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash is continuing to move east and south-east and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours.”

 

Albert Jakobsson had set out for the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, some 125 kilometers east of Reykjakik, in temperatures of minus 20, to see the stunning eruption. He walked across the glacier to get to a good spot and started snapping away. He was literally just packing up, when suddenly the aurora borealis appeared.

 

Reykjavik, Iceland - A picture of the massive cloud of ash after the eruption.

 

 

A picture of the mudslides to the west of Eyjafjallajokull glacier after the eruption.

A picture of the damage to the west of Eyjafjallajokull glacier after the eruption.

A damaged road to the west of Eyjafjallajokull glacier after the eruption.

A destroyed road over the Markarfljot River to the west of Eyjafjallajokull glacier after the eruption.

The Eyjafjallajokull glacier underneath which the eruption took place.

 

NASA's Terra satellite flew over the volcano at 11:35 UTC (7:35 a.m. EDT) on 15 April 2010 and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS instrument aboard Terra captured a visible image of the ash plume from Eyjafjallajokull Volcano.

NASA's Terra satellite captures the cloud of volcanic dust heading to the UK after the eruption in Iceland. The cloud has brought chaos to air travel, with flights expected to be grounded until tomorrow morning.

 

A four way composite photo from EUMETSAT showing images of the air space above Iceland with the ash clouds taken on 14 and 15 April 2010.

 

A handout photograph released by the Icelandic Coast Guard showing an aerial view of the ash cloud dated 14 April 2010.

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