Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Satellites Keep Aircraft Away From Volcanic Cloud

Posted by timothy on from the hope-it's-not-opposite-day dept.

coondoggie writes "A range of satellites from a host of different nations are pumping out images and data on the Icelandic volcano currently wreaking havoc on commercial airline traffic and aviation in general. The European Space Agency today noted four major satellites that are monitoring the volcano that erupted this week under Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull glacier. They include NASA's Aqua and Aura as well as the European Space Agency's Envisat and MetOp spacecraft. Other satellites such as NASA's Terra and NOAA's GOES satellite also provide images." Updated 20100416 01:17 GMT by timothy: Apropos that, 2Y9D57 writes with this "Image of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, after it began erupting on 15 April. Acquired by the German TerraSAR-X synthetic aperture radar satellite from a height of about 500 kilometers / 300 miles."

8 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. The sky over Germany looked clear today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    At what density is volcanic ash dangerous to aircraft turbines and what is the damage mechanism? On the satellite images, it looks like the air space south of Scotland was only peripherally affected by the plume coming from the volcano. I wonder if the widely dispersed ash is really that much of a problem.

    1. Re:The sky over Germany looked clear today by joe_frisch · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Anyone know at what density the ash is a hazard? This is the first large scale grounding of commercial aircraft due to a volcanic eruption that I can remember. Wikipedia lists an all engine out on a 747 in 1982 but maybe there are more cases.

      Volcanic ash above some concentration is certainly a hazard, but this seems like a lot of airspace for a modest eruption.

  2. Re:Really now by kevingolding2001 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's a bit of tautological recursion.

    Don't blame /. This is exactly how it is written in TFA (I know, I know.. I must be new here etc).

    Although since the article author is Michael Cooney and the story was submitted by "coondoggie" I suspect they are one and the same.

  3. NASA Image: Ash Plume across the North Atlantic by ctilmes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43670

  4. Re:Space program by KeensMustard · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How do you think those satellites got there? How do you think that technology was refined enough to work? Yeah, MANNED SPACE FLIGHT is what pushes the boundaries. It is what allows all the rest of this.

    History suggests that you have it the wrong way around. It is unmanned flight that pushes the boundaries, human flight trailing along far behind. Sputnik came before Gagarin. Luna-9/Surveyor landed on the moon before Apollo. Voyager/Cassini/Mars Rovers came before - well, before anything at all. Right now, Voyager 1 has passed the heliopause - it has left the solar system. Meanwhile, humans fix the toilets in LEO. How is that pushing the boundary? Humans are the vestigial organ of space exploration and exploitation. They've never been needed, and never will be.

    Unless these satellites have to breath air or produce urine for some reason, chances are that the technology they use owes nothing to human spaceflight.

  5. Increased geological activity? by SaberCat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Humm... it seems like we are seeing an increase in earthquakes and now a volcano. I wonder if it has anything to do with melting glaciers and polar ice caps. Seems like, as the ice melts its weight is shifted from the ice to the oceans. As sea levels rise, increased weight is applied to continental shelves and tectonic plates and weight is decreased where the ice was. I wonder if this could cause the plates to shift. Also, if volcanoes spew more sulfur, etc. into the atmosphere there could be a cooling effect. I don't recall hearing anyone mention that global warming might cause geologic shifts. Maybe that will be the most immediate consequence? What do you think??

    1. Re:Increased geological activity? by budgenator · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Earthquakes look pretty typical to me, notoriety isn't the same thing as frequency or intensity. Also the glaciers have been melting for the entire Holocene, so that's really not unusual and to top it all off the polar ice caps have rebounded to normal levels. Some scientists have made a similar assertion to icecap melting leading to increased vulcanism;

      They said there was no sign that the current eruption from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier that has paralysed flights over northern Europe was linked to global warming. The glacier is too small and light to affect local geology. Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes

      that isn't the case here.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
  6. Re:Pro editing by pjt33 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ooh. They do actually seem to have added it. The last time I typed in Spanish with accents it broke, pero ahora no está para reñir.