Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: David Shaw on April 15, 2010, 08:57:10 AM
-
I see from the BBC news bulletins that volcanic dust from an eruption in Iceland is drifting over western Europe and disrupting flights from many UK airports.
Does anyone know if this dust will affect our gardens if it falls out of the atmosphere?
-
David,
From television commentaries, it seem very unlikely any dust will actually fall to earth. Assurances were given that it would not affect anybody with respiratory problems.
At worst, if it fell it would simply be a dusting of fine powder noticeable on cars etc.
Paddy
-
Yes, they have closed the air space in Northen Finland and N Sweden and I think the whole Norway is closed too. A friend of mine almost missed a flight to Austria. Maybe the snow will melt faster, if dust lands ;D
-
My nephew and niece are scheduled to fly from Embra to Stansted this evening so we are keeping an eye on the situation. At present all Scottish airports are closed!
-
I have just found a benefit to this dust cloud grounding all aircraft.
Twice a year the military hold an international war games exercise over the north of Scotland with many planes being based at Kinloss, about four miles away. This is happening this week and next. Normally it can be very noisy but I have just realised that I haven't heard a single aeroplane since yesterday evening. Hooray ;D
-
Is it a coincidence that Philip Pullman was interviewed on BBC "Breakfast" yesterday? :o
-
It is a clever plan to get us to stay in and watch the three stooges (sorry I mean the leaders debate) on tv tonight.
-
I think the disadvantages are:
- Pleople missing their planes
- You have to go to the carwash
- The newsbulletins will have another boring topic tonight
The advantages are:
- Free lava fertilization of your garden
- Temporal reduction of CO2 emission by airplanes
- High ratings for the newsbulletins (see above)
:o :o :o ;D ;D ;D
-
We've been told that ALL UK airports are closed, even Heathrow. Air NZ flights to UK are either cancelled or diverted to Frankfurt.
-
You are right, Lesley, the Sky's over the UK are quiet and peaceful tonight.
-
My brother drove my nephew (and his sister, who was staying with another cousin) to meet my sister (their mother) at Scotch Corner this evening! I think that would replace any CO2 emissions she'd saved by not going by aeroplane. ;D
-
The news items also said the dust contained, among other things, GLASS! Is that usual in volcanic dust?
-
Yes, Lesley.... volcanic 'glass'.... obsidian... is quite common after volcanic eruptions... it can be found in quite large pieces and 'stones' (though they're not minerals, being formed without crystals) can be cut/facetted from it for use in jewellery... I have some obsidian from Mount St. Helen's in earrings.
-
I don't think that you are allowed to land an aeroplane on the A1, Anthony, they would probably have had to fly on to Dishforth 'drome. :o
Lesley, glass = silica which becomes molten in the eruption.
-
I don't think that you are allowed to land an aeroplane on the A1, Anthony,
Many have tried.
Yes, Lesley.... volcanic 'glass'.... obsidian... is quite common after volcanic eruptions... it can be found in quite large pieces and 'stones' (though they're not minerals, being formed without crystals) can be cut/facetted from it for use in jewellery... I have some obsidian from Mount St. Helen's in earrings.
I have several pieces of obsidian from Mexico. It is a beautiful shiny black with a gold shimmer through it. very heavy. I brought a large obsidian "Chac Mool" back for a friend. Got so attached to it I was disappointed when we had to part with him. :'(
-
Thanks everyone. I knew of obsidian (there's a Heuchera, after all ;D) but I didn't realize it was volcanic in origin. Now I think about, the two little tortoises I have, may be of obsidian, or perhaps just basalt. They don't have the golden glow of Anthony's. Very nice.
-
Volcanic ash (tephra) is defined as particles less than two millimetres in size ejected from a volcano. Generally volcanic ash is a mixture of pumice, rock fragments, mineral grains and tiny shards of volcanic glass. In a volcanic eruption huge amounts of gas are released ie carbon dioxide so any lessening of CO2 emissions from planes being grounded will more than offset by what the volcano produces.
Volcanic ash can travel long distances; the larger the eruption the further the ash travels ( also influenced by the prevailing wind)
Here is a picture of ash layers in the peat deposits on the Chatham Islands east of New Zealand. They originated from successive volcanic eruption of the Taupo volcano in the central North Island. In AD 233 Taupo produced 30 cubic kilometres of ash and overwhelmed 20,000 square kilometres of land. 26,500 yrs ago the same volcano erupted and produced 530 cu metres of magma. With so much material being ejected the caldera collapsed in on itself leaving a big hole in the ground which filled up with water and now is a lake, Lake Taupo. So the present eruption in Iceland is no great deal in the scheme of things
-
On a purely selfish note, the sky above me is free of vapour trails and is wall to wall blue. This is an unusual occurrence as we have over 100 flights at high altitude daily over our town.
On a clear day, the vapour trails disperse slowly and merge with each other making a thin veil of cloud which cuts down the sunlight.
On the negative side, my daughter and her family are having a holiday in Egypt, on the Red Sea coast. They were due back in the UK on Thursday morning just as the ban on flights came into force. Looking at the news there is no indication of when they will get back.
Locally, Glasgow and Prestwick are cleared for flights westbound as at 7pm .Passing Prestwick airport an hour ago, there was not one aircraft in the terminal area.
-
I too am delighted to have peace, quiet, blue skies and NO chemtrails - bliss!
Anthony, I like your Chac Mool, a big peice of Obsidisan! I have 2 small tumbles, that's quite enough for me, they live in the porch.
-
Because Chac baby was destined for a friend, we bought a beautiful obsidian turtle as insurance.
-
Friends of mine were due to fly back from a week's holiday in Portugal today. They can't, so their holiday insurance has paid for an extension to their holiday. Good job they are both retired. They will now fly back next Saturday! Some extension! Lucy's violin teacher is stuck in Georgia (USA)! I wonder how many of my colleagues won't make it back to school on Monday? Two of my wife's colleagues are stuck in China, and at least four others are abroad somewhere!
-
this is a series of photographs well worth looking at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36553710
-
Those are amazing Kristl. Flights in and out of Scotland's airports were supposed to resume today, but I think the majority have been cancelled again due to increased activity in the volcano today. One of my colleagues was told that the next flight home from Mexico is 7th May! I think she is travelling a different route, via New York to get back sooner.
-
Super pictures, Kristal, thanks for the link.
I am finding the daily reports from SEPA on their analysis of the environmental impact of the dust cloud on Scotland to be interesting.
http://www.sepa.org.uk/
See 'Latest News releases' in the right hand column.
-
removed
-
Not stuck....just can't get out of the USA. Sherba was due to fly to France today with her Mother but that has had to be postponed. Luckily, the airline has waived any rebooking fees.
-
I'm due to fly to Paris for the weekend - but I'm seriously thinking of pulling out, even if the flight is eventually not cancelled. The alternative entertainment for the weekend is a plant fair ... ::) ::)
-
I think it is better not to mention names of Forumists stranded abroad .... I've been contacted and asked not to do so in case of opportunist thefts. :-X
-
I have heard that one unfortunate person had the contents of their garage stolen because their garage door had been up when the Google Earth Street View pics were taken! :(
-
Nothing worse than getting home from vacation and finding that somebody stole all the weeds out of one's lawn. ;D
But that IS a very good point Maggi. Well done for pointing it out.
-
I'm due to fly to Paris for the weekend - but I'm seriously thinking of pulling out, even if the flight is eventually not cancelled. The alternative entertainment for the weekend is a plant fair ... ::) ::)
Glad you chose to come to Iturraran! ;D