Dangerous Ash

For once the threat by ash is taken seriously, causing many airports all across Europe to close down and thousands of flights all over the world canceled.

Just to be clear, yours truly is not the subject matter. Instead it is a volcano that lies under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland that have erupted on 14 April 2010 – the second time in less than a month.

Whilst usually volcanic plumes can be easily avoided by planes, the cloud of ash, and glass by this volcano has spread across an area thousands of square miles at the airplane-level-altitude of 20,000 to 36,000 feet high. The ash is dangerous for planes and as reported by Associate Press:

“The highly abrasive, microscopic particles that make up volcanic ash pose a threat to aircraft because they can affect visibility and get sucked into airplane engines, causing them to shut down. The ash can also block pitot tubes, which supply vital instruments such as air speed indicators, or latch onto engine blades, forming a glassy substance that may cause engines to surge or stall. Ash will also damage all forward-facing surfaces on an aircraft, such as the cockpit windshields, the wings’ leading edges, the landing lights and air filters for the passenger cabin.”

Satellite image: the ash cloud is brownish-black as ice particles mingle with ash.

The UK, Irish Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands closed their airspace on Thursday. France shut down 24 airports in the north of the country, including the main hub of Paris-Charles de Gaulle, while Germany’s Berlin and Hamburg airports were also closed on Thursday evening. Frankfurt closed on Friday morning.

Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific were among long-haul airlines who have cancelled flights to Europe. My friend who is due to fly to London via MAS this morning is sitting nervously by the phone to check the status of his flight as he has a very important presentation to make over there.

The volcanic eruption is not as massive in size to, say, Indonesia’s Krakatoa eruption in 1883 that blacked out the sky all over the world, the eruption of which can be heard 3,000 miles away. The energy released by the eruption is equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT (Hiroshima atom bomb is equivalent to only 20 kiloton) Yet, the effect of this natural phenomena is still dangerous and affects lives across the other side of the globe.

True… this post is nothing to do with technology or gadgets. But it is nice to be awed once in a while and keep our head level. For all our technology advancements and our constant bickering among us, Mother Nature just has to cough a bit to remind us – how small we are.

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