VOLCANO NEWS & SITUATION
19.8.2010 : EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL AND AVIATION
A Conference on Eyjafjallajökull and Aviation will convene at Keflavik Airport, Iceland, on September 15-16, 2010. It is organized by the Keilir Aviation Academy, in cooperation with the President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the Minister of Transport Kristján L. Möller, the US Embassy and the Embassy of the Russian Federations in Iceland as well ICAO, IATA, ATA, AEA. ICAA, ISAVIA, IMO, Icelandair and Inspired by Iceland.
NEWS FROM 23 + 24 May 2010 - THE VOLCANO IS DORMANT
The Icelandic Meteorological Office reported at 11:00 GMT that there was "no ash plume" and that "hopefully the eruption is over". According to pilot observations, the plume was estimated at 3 km (9,800 ft) heading in a southerly direction. The plume was completely white in colour indicating that it was composed entirely of water vapour. There were no reports of ash fall, neither did ATDNet report any lightning strikes. Measurements made from an aircraft mounted thermal camera indicated that at the crater, the highest observable temperature was almost 100 °C (212 °F); however, the crater could not be observed directly due to the quantity of steam rising from it. No signs of magma extrusion were visible. Seismographic data indicated that the volcanic tremors decreased to almost the level that existed before the eruption. Further to this, GPS sensors indicated a continued horizontal displacement toward the centre of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. This was interpreted as showing that the magma chamber was not being replenished. The overall assessment was that in spite of the high quantity of steam, the eruption appeared to be dormant.
By the morning of 24 May 2010, the view from the webcam installed on Þórólfsfell showed that the eruption plume was completely absent, indicating that the volcano had become dormant again.
ICELAND DUSTS OFF THE WELCOME MAT
It got pretty dusty here for a while, but the Iceland Tourist Board wants to assure you that day-to-day life is back to normal after the recent excitement and commotion created by the Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption. Roadways in the south that were previously closed to tour buses have re-opened and therefore GJ-Travel can operate all their tours as planned with the exception of Thorsmörk. Iceland has a total of 4 international airports and until today, it happened only for half a day that Iceland was closed for international flights. Due to the ash cloud there might be delays and re-routings for flights. Once visitors arrive in Iceland tours are operated as booked. Icelandic tour operators have been amending cancellation policies and Icelandair was commended in the media for their swift and efficient re-routing of North American flights. Thankfully the damage from the volcano was minimal and the Icelandic travel community was able to work together to ensure that every traveler's experience went as smoothly as possible. On-going volcanic activity makes this an ideal opportunity to experience a once-in-a-lifetime world famous eruption. In fact, volcano tours have become, if you’ll excuse the expression, “explosively” popular.
Book your trip today. Iceland – never a dull moment!
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