ONTD_Political's PotD: April 18, 2010.
[On Thursday April 15, 2010], British civil aviation authorities ordered the country's airspace closed as of noon, due to a cloud of ash drifting from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The volcano has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. The volcanic ash has forced the cancellation of many flights and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. Collected here are photos of the most recent eruption, and of last month's eruptions, which were from the same volcano, just several miles further east.
Smoke billows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull on April 16. Iceland's second volcano eruption in less than a month has sent plumes of ash and smoke billowing more than 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) into the sky. The massive ash cloud is gradually sweeping across Europe and forcing the continent's biggest air travel shutdown since World War II.
Halldor Klobeins | AFP/Getty Images
A woman wears a mask and goggles to protect herself from ash caused by volcanic activity Friday April 16 2010, some 120km east of the capital Rejkavik, Iceland. The Eyjafjallajokull glacier volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday, sending ash several miles (kilometers) into the air. Authorities told people in the area with respiratory problems to stay indoors, and advised everyone to wear masks and protective goggles outside.
Brynjar Gauti | AP Photo
Volcanic scientists collect samples of ash to send to labs to analyze its content, in eastern Iceland on April 15, 2010. A cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, which erupted on the morning of April 14, 2010, is likely to disrupt European airspace for "several days", a global association of air traffic control companies said today.
OMAR OSKARSSON | AFP/Getty Images
The volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air just prior to sunset on Friday, April 16. Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes.
AP Photo | Brynjar Gauti
In this image made available by NEODASS/University of Dundee shows the volcanic ash plume from Iceland, top left, to the north of Britain at received by NASA's Terra Satellite at 11.39 GMT Thursday April 15, 2010. Ash from Iceland's spewing volcano halted air traffic across a wide swathe of Europe on Thursday, grounding planes on a scale not seen since the 9/11 terror attacks. Thousands of flights were canceled, tens of thousands of passengers were stranded and officials said it was not clear when it would be safe enough to fly again.
NEODAAS | AP Photo/University of Dundee
This aerial image shows the crater spewing ash and plumes of grit at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010. A lingering volcanic ash plume forced extended no-fly restrictions over much of Europe Saturday, as Icelandic scientists warned that volcanic activity had increased and showed no sign of abating _ a portent of more travel chaos to come. Although the ash plume has grown, a northerly wind was expected to allow enough visibility for scientists to fly over the volcano Saturday.
Arnar Thorisson/Helicopter.is | AP Photo
Smoke and steam hangs over the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, Wednesday April 14, 2010, which has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. Volcanic ash drifting across the Atlantic forced the cancellation of flights in Britain and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. Flights in and out of London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, were halted, and the shutdowns and cancellations spread to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland. The volcano's smoke and ash poses a threat to aircraft because it can affect visibility, and microscopic debris can get sucked into airplane engines and can cause them to shut down.
Jon Gustafsson | AP Photo
Volcanic ash seen over Iceland´s main ring road near Skogar, east of the eruption as the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. The Icelandic volcano that has kept much of Europe land-bound is far from finished spitting out its grit, and offered up new mini-eruptions Saturday that raise concerns about longer-term damage to world air travel and trade.
Brynjar Gauti | AP Photo
Farmers team up to rescue cattle from exposure to the toxic volcanic ash at a farm in Nupur, Iceland, as the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. The Icelandic volcano that has kept much of Europe land-bound is far from finished spitting out its grit, and offered up new mini-eruptions Saturday that raise concerns about longer-term damage to world air travel and trade.
Brynjar Gauti | AP Photo
A view of a deserted airside departure lounge at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport London Friday April 16, 2010. The airport was closed due to a cloud of volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere above much of Europe, emanating from a volcanic eruption near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. The volcanic ash is a hazard to jet aircraft engines, causing the cancellation of many flights over European airspace.
AP Photo
A aircraft maintenance worker covers a jet engine at Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland, Friday, April, 16, 2010. The airport was closed due to a cloud of volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere above much of Europe, emanating from a volcanic eruption near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. The volcanic ash is a hazard to jet aircraft engines, causing the cancellation of many flights over European airspace.
Peter Morrison | AP Photo
Passengers gather in front of flight information screens at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, as hundreds of commercial flights across northern Europe are canceled by a drifting plume of volcanic ash originating from Iceland, outside Paris, Friday, April 16.
Christophe Ena | AP Photo
Passengers use camp beds as they wait for the resumption of air travel on April 16, at the airport in at Frankfurt airport, the biggest in Germany.
Torten Silz | AFP/Getty Images
Volcanic scientists leave the area after collecting samples of ash to send to labs to analyze its content, in eastern Iceland on April 15, 2010. A cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, which erupted on the morning of April 14, 2010, is likely to disrupt European airspace for "several days", a global association of air traffic control companies said today.
OMAR OSKARSSON | AFP/Getty Images
This File picture taken on March 27, 2010 shows tourists gathered to watch lava spurt out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier some 125 Kms east of Reykjakic. Up to 800 people were evacuated in Iceland early on April 14, 2010 due to a volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in the south of the island, police and geophysicists said.
HALLDOR KOLBEINS | AFP/Getty Images
This picture taken on March 27, 2010 shows tourists gathered to watch lava spurt out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier some 125 Kms east of Reykjakic. With lava still gushing, a small Icelandic volcano that initially sent hundreds fleeing from their homes is turning into a boon for the island nation's tourism industry, as visitors flock to catch a glimpse of the eruption.
HALLDOR KOLBEINS | AFP/Getty Images
Lava spews out of a volcano in the region of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in southern Iceland, on March 21, 2010. The small volcano eruption that forced more than 600 people to flee their homes in Iceland over the weekend could conceivably set off a larger volcano, experts warned.
Kjartansson | AFP/Getty Images
This picture taken on March 27, 2010 shows lava spurting out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano some 125 km east of Reykjavik. With lava still gushing, a small Icelandic volcano that initially sent hundreds fleeing from their homes is turning into a boon for the island nation's tourism industry, as visitors flock to catch a glimpse of the eruption.
HALLDOR KOLBEINS | AFP/Getty Images
Full gallaries:
- Iceland's disruptive volcano | The Big Picture
- Volcanic Ash Blankets Europe | The Frame
- Iceland’s Volcano Disrupts Travel | The PBlog