Holy cow! That is way cooler than I expected, and I was expecting awesome pictures to show up here soon, but, man, that exceeds my wildest volcano dreams! (Sorry if you are stuck in an airport.) posted by rikschell at 11:18 AM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Very Mordor-esque. Mordorian? Saurony? You know what I mean. Also? Please don't ruin my trip to London at the end of May, mkay volcano? TIA posted by Rock Steady at 11:21 AM on April 18, 2010
Damn. Just... wow. posted by threetoed at 11:21 AM on April 18, 2010
No one is really sure why there are electrical discharges, but it's pretty common. I've seen pictures of Mt. St. Helens and of Pinatubo which showed the same thing. posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:22 AM on April 18, 2010
The eruption seems to be calming down right now and less ash is being spewed into the atmosphere. Whether this continues or it gets going again is unknown. So far this eruption has been very unpredictable. posted by Kattullus at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2010
The 1981 eruption of Mt St Helens featured a spectacular display of sheet lightning, with truck-sized balls of St Elmo's fire seen rolling along the ground 29 miles north of the mountain.
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've seen of Iceland's
Eyjafjallajökull,
I'd say the fuckers
Have it covered
Twice. posted by pracowity at 11:30 AM on April 18, 2010 [112 favorites]
/me glances over at Mauna Loa and Kilauea with sudden trepidation. posted by minedev at 11:30 AM on April 18, 2010
Our local high school doesn't teach geology (earth science) any more. I think that's a shame—it certainly seems pretty relevant. posted by theredpen at 11:31 AM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I have two friends who are currently stuck in Los Angeles waiting for flights back to Europe. I have a feeling I'm not alone here: it's been amazing, this snapshot of just how much travel we take for granted by its grinding to a halt. posted by jokeefe at 11:32 AM on April 18, 2010
Kudos to Blazecock for the name he slapped on this article. I can't stop laughing and saying "electric boogaloo" over and over. Prolly a nervous reaction to the terror those photos bring. posted by Lukenlogs at 11:35 AM on April 18, 2010
Marco Fulle is a professional astronomer who studies comets. He seems to be pretty good at his hobby photographing volcanoes. posted by lukemeister at 11:35 AM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
The star streaks show it to be time-lapse. What is cool is that the lightning flashes illuminate the cloud only for an instant, so the cloud is not blurred.
Cutbacks. Dinosaurs wielding chainsaws were too expensive, given the current economic climate. posted by IAmBroom at 11:40 AM on April 18, 2010 [12 favorites]
rikschell: "Previous eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull have been followed by eruptions at its larger neighbour, Katla."
The name Katla still makes me shiver a bit. I think I saw the Brothers Lionhart movie at least three times as child and I found the dragon absolutely terrifying. Astrid Lindgren chose a good name for her dragon. posted by severiina at 11:45 AM on April 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Have we, once again, broken the site? I keep getting 403 FORIDDEN! mssages, which always make me feel like the internets doesn't like me anymore. :/ posted by elizardbits at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2010
I'm getting 403 errors on all of the swisseduc.ch links. posted by jedicus at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2010
I'm getting 403 errors on all of the swisseduc.ch links.
Me too, and the photos where loading reeeealy slow when it was working for me. I suspect they are getting hammered. posted by edgeways at 12:08 PM on April 18, 2010
Huh? I'm completely locked out of all of the Swiss linkswith a 403 forbidden, no matter how I change the URL around or which browser I use. I can get to the site's home page, but any click on the Stromboli link on the left just 403s again. jokeefe can obviously see stuff, so they're not just locking out Canadians, but this is still weird.
Any mirrors up?, she said hopefully. posted by maudlin at 12:10 PM on April 18, 2010
I am seeing a cached version of the 403 page through coral.
Lord_Pall, I am getting the live cam. Anything that explains what the tremor data actually means? posted by cgk at 12:13 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
What are the macro-effects of this kinda thing? I know the explosion of Krakatoa led to strange sunsets in London (and a short summer) and the Year Without A Summer having a whole chain of results from Frankenstein being written to Utah being the settling place for the new Mormon church. posted by The Whelk at 12:14 PM on April 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
yeah, still 403'd. posted by Maias at 12:15 PM on April 18, 2010
Count me in the 403 brigade. What I can see from some of the thumbnails is pretty cool, though. posted by TedW at 12:17 PM on April 18, 2010
One of the more dramatic ones from that set can be found here posted by edgeways at 12:17 PM on April 18, 2010
This reminds me of Peter North with a horrible UTI and a spark plug up his ass. posted by PenguinBukkake at 12:23 PM on April 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
This reminds me of Peter North with a horrible UTI and a spark plug up his ass.
I'm just going to stare at this comment for a bit and admire it. posted by The Whelk at 12:29 PM on April 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
Metafilter: we can 403 your eruption. posted by Coobeastie at 12:37 PM on April 18, 2010
What are the macro-effects of this kinda thing?
None significant, I suppose. This new eruption at Eyjafjallajökull apparently has a VEI of 3, as opposed to 6 for Krakatoa and 7 for Tambora. It's relatively tame compared to those events. posted by Bangaioh at 12:42 PM on April 18, 2010
403'd here too, but thanks to The Whelk for linking the Reykjavik Grapevine, which looks like a great source for reports and pix. See this report also, which has a link to their prior coverage, and some photos of lightning in the ash plume at dusk. posted by beagle at 12:45 PM on April 18, 2010
Yeah, this size eruption is a common event; it's the location and such that is making this particular one so problematic. posted by Justinian at 12:47 PM on April 18, 2010
There is an interesting section on volcano travel opportunities that is still reachable on the site, but they need to work on their English ad copy. "Study trips to volcanoes in the footprints of the SOL team" probably doesn't mean what they think it means. posted by cgk at 12:47 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Wow, these look more like scenes from a Michael Bay movie then real life. I wonder what the long time effects of this eruption are going to be. I read on bbc that European airlines were losing $200 million a day. Also is there enough stuff up in the air to reflect the sun rays back into space and cool the earth a little? posted by lilkeith07 at 1:04 PM on April 18, 2010
Hey Kattullus, are you still in Iceland and is this effecting you? posted by The Whelk at 1:09 PM on April 18, 2010
Oh wait I live on the internet and can search things and you mentioned this. posted by The Whelk at 1:11 PM on April 18, 2010
There are still a lot of good links to photos in the open thread. posted by gingerbeer at 1:13 PM on April 18, 2010
I'm in Reykjavík which hasn't been affected by the volcano, except insofar as some exports and imports haven't gotten in and out of the country. The wind has carried the ash southeast and Eyjafjallajökull is east of Reykjavík. People have been buying dust masks though, just in case. posted by Kattullus at 1:18 PM on April 18, 2010
Are the white clouds steam and the dark ash? Or what is the deal? posted by theredpen at 1:20 PM on April 18, 2010
Also is there enough stuff up in the air to reflect the sun rays back into space and cool the earth a little?
I'll take a stab. I think it (dark clouds of pumice) would absorb more than it reflects. Plus trap more heat underneath at the same time. IANASH posted by hal9k at 1:29 PM on April 18, 2010
... I'm not sure if these have already been noted upthread, but this small collection of Eyjafjallajökull pictures are stunning. posted by Auden at 1:43 PM on April 18, 2010
Some of the 403'd pictures in the original post can be seen in this blog post. posted by beagle at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2010
Legend has it that Eyjafjallajökull will only cease its demonstration of wrath and power, and return to slumber, when someone pronounces its name correctly. posted by jonesor at 2:42 PM on April 18, 2010 [21 favorites]
I vote for the sabs playing outdoors beside this posted by sgt.serenity at 3:06 PM on April 18, 2010
Based on my understanding of the situation the London VAAC relied entirely on computer simulations of the ash cloud location and not on any empiric measurement (e.g weather balloons, test flights, etc) to measure the density and quantity of ash and gasses. Test flights today showed zero degradation of aircraft performance and or engine damage despite a KLM pilot who flew through an ash cloud. Apparently the clouds can also be avoided during daytime flights by flying around them or adjusting altitudes. You heard it here first this is going to turn out to be a software glitch. The entirety of global aviation ruined by some scientist staring at a simulation with total confidence refusing to bother to look at the sky. Not to go on a full rant here, but I was outside in today in the park, the sky was as blue as the MeFi background. posted by humanfont at 3:19 PM on April 18, 2010
Legend has it that Eyjafjallajökull will only cease its demonstration of wrath and power, and return to slumber, when someone pronounces its name correctly.
humanfont: Based on my understanding of the situation the London VAAC relied entirely on computer simulations of the ash cloud location and not on any empiric measurement (e.g weather balloons, test flights, etc) to measure the density and quantity of ash and gasses. Test flights today showed zero degradation of aircraft performance and or engine damage despite a KLM pilot who flew through an ash cloud.
Lots more 403 than volcano here as well. Could somebody who can still see these perhaps re-host them somewhere accessible to all? posted by flabdablet at 5:18 PM on April 18, 2010
You heard it here first this is going to turn out to be a software glitch. The entirety of global aviation ruined by some scientist staring at a simulation with total confidence refusing to bother to look at the sky.
Nobody wants to be the guy that says, "Yeah, go for it, man. I'm sure everything will be OK." posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:59 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I don't think there will be any major crashes from this, but I really do believe they're going to fuck up a lot of planes by flying around when they probably shouldnt. posted by Lord_Pall at 6:04 PM on April 18, 2010
You know, jet engines ingest a really terrific amount of air, and they turn at really high speeds with very fine balance and huge forces. It wouldn't take much abrasive in that air to really screw an engine up. posted by localroger at 6:13 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
or what gwint's link said posted by mediareport at 6:19 PM on April 18, 2010
"Although scientists disagree on what causes volcanic lightning, they all agree the effect is totally badass." posted by The otter lady at 6:43 PM on April 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
If you were standing nearby the eruption, you would hear this sound:
Particulate matter in the atmosphere cools things down because the sunlight can't reach the ground and warm it up. Thus the demise of the dinosaurs, medieval summers like winter, "Nuclear Winter" etc.. thus far, not enough from this event to make any difference to AGW, but if it continued like this for years.. it would probably put Europe and the world economy into a tailspin and that alone would be enough to reduce emissions. posted by stbalbach at 7:06 PM on April 18, 2010
I dunno, it might be cool if it went on for a bit and everyone started taking transatlantic sea voyages again. posted by Mister_A at 7:20 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
In all fairness, it's very difficult to point a camera in any direction at all while in Iceland and not take a stunning picture. posted by newdaddy at 7:28 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
In all fairness, it's very difficult to point a camera in any direction at all while in Iceland and not take a stunning picture.
So true. And when in doubt, take three and auto stitch. posted by nathancaswell at 8:10 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I was outside in today in the park, the sky was as blue as the MeFi background.
That does not imply that the air is safe to fly through. posted by lukemeister at 8:18 PM on April 18, 2010
I think my first vacation in years isn't going to be happening. :( posted by Decimask at 8:36 PM on April 18, 2010
it's very difficult to point a camera in any direction at all while in Iceland and not take a stunning picture.
Another webcam, needs a windows media plugin though.. Not as nice as the Mila one. posted by Lord_Pall at 8:55 PM on April 18, 2010
I hope someone in Hollywood has checked in on Michael Bay. He's probably masturbated himself into a coma looking at these pics. posted by billyfleetwood at 9:40 PM on April 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I hope someone in Hollywood has checked in on Michael Bay. He's probably masturbated himself into a coma looking at these pics.
He's OK, he can't come unless there are lens flares. posted by nathancaswell at 9:47 PM on April 18, 2010
No idea if the site is ever going to gain any traction (and if so, whether it will not crash down as soon as a hundred people try it at once), or it may be bogus, but anyways here you have it: StuckinEurope for car ride coordination. posted by Iosephus at 12:55 AM on April 19, 2010
The 1981 eruption of Mt St Helens featured a spectacular display of sheet lightning, with truck-sized balls of St Elmo's fire seen rolling along the ground 29 miles north of the mountain.
Er, I mean ash distribution (the gif is called smoke.gif, bleh) posted by delmoi at 4:37 AM on April 19, 2010
MAN I HOPE ARE SECURITY SERVICES ARE KEEPING A PROFESSIONAL EYE ON THESE ICELANDERS YOU CAN TRY 2 CONVINCE ME THIS ISNT AL PART OF A CENTURIES OLD PLOT TO OVERTHROW THE BRITISH CROWN BUT I WON'T BELIEVE IT THEY TRIED IT BEFORE BACK IN TWELVE HUNDRED AND SOMETHING AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THEY R AT IT AGAIN FRIST THEY DESTABILISE ARE ECONOMY WITH THEIR ATTRACTIVE ATTRACTIVE INTREST RATES AND NOW THEY SIC A VOLCANO ON US THE NXT PART OF THERE PLAN IS THEY INVADE US IN THE NITE WITH THERE VIKING ROBOT HELICOPTERS I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT ILL BE WATCHING THE SKIES FROM NOW ON posted by Life at Boulton Wynfevers at 5:46 AM on April 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
As my friend said, "We take their cash, ground their planes, now we just have to flood the tunnel to France and we can release the virus into their fish and chips ... and Iceland has a new colony." posted by krilli at 6:04 AM on April 19, 2010 [2 favorites]
Fuckin' lightning, man. How does that work? posted by norm at 10:22 AM on April 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Was just coming in to post what ignignokt did. Awesome photos indeed. posted by King Bee at 12:13 PM on April 19, 2010
Whenever I see the name of that volcano, I think "Efilnikufesin" and start singing Anthrax. posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 12:17 PM on April 19, 2010
Do not taunt Happy Fun Volcano*.
*Easier to spell and pronounce than Eyjafjallajökull. posted by tommasz at 12:23 PM on April 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've known about the volcano for a while; at least ever since it's been in the news recently, but I had no idea it was, you know, like all volcano-ing and shit.
Having huge bolts of lightning in the midst of the eruption is just kinda overkill, isn't it? Hey volcano god: We get it, you are mighty, you are angry, you demand a sacrifice, but I think you may be trying too hard. posted by Mister_A at 12:33 PM on April 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
The 1981 eruption of Mt St Helens featured a spectacular display of sheet lightning, with truck-sized balls of St Elmo's fire seen rolling along the ground 29 miles north of the mountain.
Fuck. Fuckety fuck fuck.
"When the first tremors were reported from Mt St Helens, I dropped everything to be on the scene. A few years before that I was on an expedition to evaluate the probability of a future volcanic eruption in the region, and even then, Mount St Helens was mentioned as the most likely candidate.
...
There were even oddities I never expected, for example, there were often lightning flashes visible in the ash clouds, but sometimes there would be outbursts of ball lightning, as large as 200 feet in diameter." (The possible ball lightning photo is pretty hazy, but it was the best I could find.) posted by filthy light thief at 12:36 PM on April 19, 2010
Molten lava has started spewing out of Eyjafjallajökull as you can see on these two webcams. posted by Kattullus at 3:57 PM on April 19, 2010
"The government agency [the Met Office] was accused of using a scientific model based on “probability” rather than fact to forecast the spread of the volcanic ash cloud that made Europe a no-fly zone and ruined the plans of more than 2.5 million travellers in and out of Britain."
Curse you crazy scientists and your "probability"! posted by jonesor at 2:50 AM on April 20, 2010
This is the Dethklok concert. They're playing at the base of the volcano. Thousands of people are dead. It's a great show. posted by krinklyfig at 8:51 AM on April 20, 2010
...FRIST THEY DESTABILISE ARE ECONOMY WITH THEIR ATTRACTIVE ATTRACTIVE INTREST RATES AND NOW THEY SIC A VOLCANO ON US...
From NPR the other day:
What were the last words of Iceland's Economy?
"Scatter my ashes over Europe" posted by TedW at 11:33 AM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
The volcano god demands sacrifice. I nominate her virtuous holiness (according to her) Sarah Palin. posted by Goofyy at 9:27 PM on April 20, 2010
Maybe having Richard Branson send a jet through the cloud would be close enough. posted by flabdablet at 10:20 PM on April 20, 2010
All I can say about the eruption is that I've never appreciated that much boarding a plane and taking off. posted by ersatz at 3:01 PM on April 21, 2010
posted by Countess Elena at 11:16 AM on April 18, 2010 [6 favorites]