Another eruption started in Iceland yesterday and this time in Grimsvötn which is located on our largest glacier Vatnajökull.  Just to reassure people it is not expected that this one will affect flight in europe like the last one did although only time will tell.  This one is really powerful though and reaches 18-20000 feet in the air.  Nearby villages are covered in a thick layer of ash and farmers will likely loose much of their livestock.  The ash is much heavier this time so it won't travel with winds so easily as last time.

Thought about you, V, when I read about the latest eruption in the newspaper.  Keep well, and hope activity keeps at a minimum.

Stay safe, mate.

Thanks hborre.  I live few hundred km. south from the eruption but there is like a brown fog all over my town and everything outside has thin layer of brown dust.  Everytime I go outside I get tiny grains of sand in my mouth.

Thanks Sam, we crossposted there.  Eruptions in Grimsvötn usually start to subside in about 4 days but there no way to say for sure.  Eruptions in Grimsvötn are always followed with floods from the glacier and since this one is the largest we've had for decades people are worried about the size of the floods.  Only time will tell.

The photo shows how thick the layer of ash is near the volcano.

Is there anything you need?

Ahh.. the expected follow-up eruption has arrived, and right on schedule. I know it's no fun for those who live there, but Iceland's volcanoes and glaciers are fascinating.

Please keep us up to date on how people are doing up there during the eruption and the floods?

Well they had to evacuate a little over 1000 people that were nearest to the volcano.   Farmers are the ones who will suffer the most or more to the point their animals. They're tried to put must of their stock indoors last night but their fields and gracing lands are covered in ash so their cost will be severe.  This isn't a catastrophe though. No lives have been lost and no one will lose their homes.  It's just a part of living on a volcanic island I suppose ;)  I'll keep you posted.

This is a different volcano than the earlier one.  This one that is erupting right now, is pretty active. It has at times errupted in the past every 2 to 3 years, but the last erruption was in 2004. This erruption was sort of "expected."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43125054/ns/world_news-europe/?gt1=43001

My wife gew up in Oregon, and she heard Mt. St. Helens explode back in 1980-she was camping about 200 miles south and they thought it was thunder. 

I'm glad this wasn't an explosive eruption-frequent eruptions are far safer in the long run.  It's a shame about the animals, though.

Stay Safe, Vestmann. 

If your're flying in/out the UK in the next few days a cautionary tale about travel insurance, you might find your policy is next to useless.  

Just called mine as some of the smaller airlines are starting to cancel flights. As well as the usual 100 quid excess, the b*ggers said unless you have specfic "natural disaster" cover they won't pay out.

Then also said carefully written sneaky terms can reduce payouts by 75% and they reserve the right to impose a processing fee. They've said if you've paid the average internal UK price (150-200) in essence you'll lose any insurance cover.

If you've pre-bought train tickets for travel to the airport, your're at the mercy of your local railway company on refunds. Southern is totally unsympathic. Decide to travel by train instead and they'll make dang sure to overcharge you by at least 50-60%. 

Most airlines are offering full refunds or free rebooks within 28 days.

a local d00d predicted the end of the world may 21, but the only thing that happened was this volcano.  he actually had several hundred folks believing him.  apparently his math was off by several billion yrs.

Quote - a local d00d predicted the end of the world may 21, but the only thing that happened was this volcano.  he actually had several hundred folks believing him.  apparently his math was off by several billion yrs.

  At this very moment I'm actually in a discussion on another forum (non Poser related) on this very topic!!

maybe he was right, but the gods only decided to destroy iceland. :crying:  why couldn't they target somebody bad instead?

Perhaps Iceland is the weapon but someone else the target...

i heard the gods' mothers have told them they'd better clean up the mess before their fathers get home.

This is what greeted us this morning after a night of ashfall from the volcano.

Hey Vestman,   do you have your house sealed to keep the dust out?

Quote - Hey Vestman,   do you have your house sealed to keep the dust out?

Basically, yes.  Every door and window kept shut to keep the dusties out.

Cool.  What all is the dust composed of?

Ash

have you got dust masks?

No.

Are you breathing that stuff in?

they are tough there - they don't need dust masks.  true, they didn't do "beowulf", but they're true survivors.  excepting the isle of man and the anglo-saxons, they've got the oldest parliamentary system.

Sorry for my extremely verbose answer earlier patorak3d.  I was very tired.  People who live in the towns closest to the volcano are advised to stay indoors and not to go outside without covering their faces.  The ashfall is so thick there that at times they can't even see the house next door.

I live far away from the volcano and the air here is pretty clear at the moment but the atmosphere is eerie.  There are strong winds and when I went outside this morning leaves were blowing around.  It feels like we've skipped summer and went straight from spring to autumn.

The eruption is still going strong and scientists say it will propably remain so for the next few days.  This is troubling as the ash has now spread to Scotland and parts of the UK and airlines have started cancelling their flights in those regions.  This is not likely to increase our popularity ;)

Quote - they are tough there - they don't need dust masks.  true, they didn't do "beowulf", but they're true survivors.  excepting the isle of man and the anglo-saxons, they've got the oldest parliamentary system.

We Icelanders are a nation of vikings who are against war mongering.  I don't think we truly know what we are. That's why the first question tourists usually get here is "How do you like Iceland?"

Uff ta! That's a lot of dust considering the distance. Weather brought to you by volcanoes is something most people would never expect.

Don't worry about your global popularity. With Iceland's impact on the North Atlantic Conveyor system, we all want to stay on your good side. ;)

No sign of flooding yet?

Yeah we're always saved by our global positioning.  In WWII, the cold war and now the North Atlantic trading route.

No news of flooding yet but early predictions said that it would not cause much damage.

This is in the town Kirkjubaejarklaustur that's not far from the volcano.  Things are clearing up a bit there now but people are advised to stay indoors.

Here's a short video from Kirkjubaejarklaustur.  It was shortly before noon on this "summer day":

Kirkjubaejarklaustur around noon.

What a lousy start to summer you got there. Hope it doesn't last too long.

It's not that bad for me at least.  Less glare on my computer screen ;)

We Icelanders are a nation of vikings who are against war mongering.  I don't think we truly know what we are. That's why the first question tourists usually get here is "How do you like Iceland?"

You all sound like cowboys to me.

Quote - We Icelanders are a nation of vikings who are against war mongering.  I don't think we truly know what we are. That's why the first question tourists usually get here is "How do you like Iceland?"

You all sound like cowboys to me.

Well then we're a nation of cowboys that has more sheep then people :)

This is troubling as the ash has now spread to Scotland and parts of the UK and airlines have started cancelling their flights in those regions.  This is not likely to increase our popularity ;)

Not with air travellers today :)

Seriously though thanks for your updates here, it's handy to know whats happening there.

Tommorow is looking a bit better, but forget anything past Newcastle. Scotland is totally out.Though Eastern airlines said this morning they are not so sure about Thursday/Friday.

With a UK public holiday on Monday, things are heavily booked. So if you travel out tommorow and theres a 'volcanic delay' on Thursday/Friday, they are advising you might not be able to fly back until the middle of next week.

I was in Iceland once, and it was much greener than Greenland

You sound like cowboys? Not the ones I know. Iceland natives sound more like my relatives in Iowa (all Norwegian and farmers), except your place names are a lot longer! You have very intimidating place names. ;)

Quote - maybe he was right, but the gods only decided to destroy iceland. :crying:  why couldn't they target somebody bad instead?

Yesteday he did say he was right. He's saying that the Rapture actually did happen!!! We just didn't see it.

Quote - > Quote - maybe he was right, but the gods only decided to destroy iceland. :crying:  why couldn't they target somebody bad instead?

 

Yesteday he did say he was right. He's saying that the Rapture actually did happen!!! We just didn't see it.

Hahaha great save!  Let's all future raptures will be this nice! :lol: