The Icelandic Volcanic Eruption

Icelandic Volcano Photo.   Courtesy:  Snaevarr Gudmundsson

A large volcanic eruption on iceland from a volcano named "Eyjafjallaajokull" has shutdown airtraffic to an extent not seen since 9/11.  The particulates in the ashcloud have been known to shutdown jet engines.  As a precautionary measure, more than 60,000 flights have been grounded since the eruption.

While the science both volcanic and atmospheric is newsworthy, the pronounciation of the volcano's name is stealing headlines due to its phoenetic complexity and journalists' butchering of it.

NPR's website has a great writeup on how to pronounce it.   Trust me, it won't help too much but its worth a listen.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/04/iceland_volcano_eyjafjallajoku.html

...or this youtube audio clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXc8i8CvNs

Here is a great satellite animation showing the ash plume.

 

The Norwegian Institute for Air Research shows the computer model ash plume dispersal forecast into Tuesday, April 20th.  You can see why given the aerial coverage of the ash why air traffic was so greatly affected.

 
Yet another snapshot of the ash plume moving across the Norwegian Sea

In 24 hours, the ash cloud moved southeastward into continental Europe.

A great FAQ section of the Icelandic Meteorology Office on volcanoes.

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/articles/nr/1880

Also, a list of volcanic eruptions in Iceland since 1900

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/articles/nr/1874