The eruption of a volcano in Iceland has the skies over the UK and Europe filled with ash. Like what happened on 9/11 in the USA, planes are landing everywhere and staying out of the skies. Volcanic ash eats scours jet turbines, making in flight failure almost a certainty.
There’s a cool website called flightradar24.com which is operated by a volunteer network of aviation enthusiasts with special receivers. They describe it as:
Flightradar24.com shows live airplane traffic from different parts around the world. The technique to receive flight information from airplanes is called ADS-B. That means the Flightradar24.com can only show information about airplanes equipped with ADS-B transponders. Today about 60% of the passenger airplanes and only a small amount of military and private airplanes have an ADS-B transponder. Flightradar24.com has a network of about 100 ADS-B receivers around the world that receives the information from airplanes with ADS-B and sends this information to a server, and then displays this information on a map on Flightradar24.com. Only airplanes within the coverage area of the 100 receivers are visible.
Watch as airplanes disappear from the skies over the UK and Europe. Here’s about 8AM PST. Blue X’s are receivers.
Two hours later:
…and at the time of this posting, 2PM PST, with a wider view:
And the ash continues to spread:
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For the first time in my adult life I have seen a cloudless sky with no jet contrails visible. The flight ban is a major inconvenience, but it really make the sky look absolutey wonderful.
Thanks Speed (09:57:11) :
It is a good read and includes:
“The most abundant gas typically released into the atmosphere from volcanic systems is water vapor (H20), followed by carbon dioxide (C02) and sulfur dioxide (S02).”
John from CA (10:24:44) :
Thanks Speed (09:57:11) :
It is a good read and includes:
“The most abundant gas typically released into the atmosphere from volcanic systems is water vapor (H20), followed by carbon dioxide (C02) and sulfur dioxide (S02).”
And as the photographs of the erupting volcanoes show that water vapor rapidly condenses to liquid water! Leaving CO2, SO2 etc. as the remaining gases.
Thanks for the link to that airtraffic site.. Now i can study chemtrails even better 😉
belvedere (11:55:07) :
You said, ” … water vapor rapidly condenses to liquid water!”
If it were only that simple. Here is a little bit from Wikipedia to give you a flavor of how complex the various combinations and reactions are in the days, weeks and months following an eruption.
“Large, explosive volcanic eruptions inject water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF) and ash (pulverized rock and pumice) into the stratosphere to heights of 16–32 kilometres (10–20 mi) above the Earth’s surface. The most significant impacts from these injections come from the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid (H2SO4), which condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sulfate aerosols … The sulfate aerosols also promote complex chemical reactions on their surfaces that alter chlorine and nitrogen chemical species in the stratosphere. This effect, together with increased stratospheric chlorine levels from chlorofluorocarbon pollution, generates chlorine monoxide (ClO), which destroys ozone (O3). As the aerosols grow and coagulate, they settle down into the upper troposphere where they serve as nuclei for cirrus clouds and further modify the Earth’s radiation balance. Most of the hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF) are dissolved in water droplets in the eruption cloud and quickly fall to the ground as acid rain. The injected ash also falls rapidly from the stratosphere; most of it is removed within several days to a few weeks. Finally, explosive volcanic eruptions release the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and thus provide a deep source of carbon for biogeochemical cycles.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano
Oops. I meant Phil. (11:44:36) :
Speed (07:29:19) :
Perhaps you will be convinced by this from Thomas J. Casadevall, Project Chief, Volcanic Hazards and Aviation Safety, U.S. Geological Survey.
“Two processes deteriorate engine performance: erosion of moving engine parts, such as compressor and turbine blades, and accumulation of partially melted ash in hot zones of the engine … Ash deposits in the hot sections of the engines, including fuel nozzles, the combustor and turbine reduce the efficiency of fuel mixing and restrict air passing through the engine. This causes surging, flame out and immediate loss of engine thrust. This loss is the principal cause of engine failure.”
And that’s all 100% true. However, in the event of an engine failure due to *those* causes, you won’t be able to re-start the engine until the engines are flushed and cleaned — the fuel nozzles will be blocked. And the BA9 crew *was* able to get the engines re-started in mid-air, which leads me to say the cause of the engine failures was reduced airflow in the intakes, rather than melted silica in the combustor or the power turbine section.
You said, “The compressor turbines are *forward* of the combustion chamber, which is the *final* stage of the engine … ”
In the aviation industry, “turbine” (or “power turbine”) refers to the wheels and blades that are downstream (generally “aft”) of the burner and extract power from the hot gasses to drive the compressor, fan and accessories.
In the pilot industry, the blades in the compressor section are called the compressor turbines (do you get the feeling we are rapidly being separated by our common language?).
“Compressor” refers to the wheels and blades that compress (imagine that) the incoming air upstream (generally “forward”) of the burner. The above linked article has a nice cutaway drawing showing this.
Yup — wheels and blades. Turbines.
BTW, I am sooooo stealing your linked articles and cutaway for a couple of classes next month.
anthony.
best site i’ve found for info on Eyjafjallajokull eruptian.
http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/04/eyjafjallajokull_eruption_cont.php
Quote:-
To say that the Eyjafjallajökull eruption has become the most significant volcano-related news story of the year would be an understatement. There has been wall-to-wall coverage on every major media outlet, dissecting everything from the effect of ash on jets, to the effect of ash on people, to wildly premature commentary on the climatic effect of the eruption to the potential place in history of this event. The eruption is affecting a wide swath through society: the European economy may take a hit of billions of dollars due to cancelled flights, the funeral for the late Polish president may be delayed, bands heading from Europe to the Coachella festival are having to cancel, and much much (much) more. However, the airspace from Iceland to Russia and as far south as Germany is still closed, with really no end in sight at this moment (although some airlines are trying limited flights).
Loads of good info and a lively comment stream similar to WUWT.
john
Perils of flying even NEAR an ash cloud. Apparently 6 (I think) F18 aircraft of the Finnish Air Force flying on a training mission in clear weather yesterday before flight restrictions took place. During the 1 hour flight, several aircraft suffered overheating in the engines. Inspection after landing shows damage from volcanic dust.
Article in Finnish and interesting photos of damage at…
http://www.ilmavoimat.fi/index.php?id=1149
Tried and failed to get english translation, perhaps someone else can do better…..
john
Bill Tuttle
First you said, “it’s the abrasion.”
Then you changed you mind — “the ash clogged the intakes.”
Then, “the combustion chamber, which is the *final* stage of the engine.” which you later agreed was wrong.
Then, ” … coating the exhaust turbine won’t shut the engine down.” which you later contradicted with the statement, “And that’s all 100% true.”
And finally, you said, “BTW, I am sooooo stealing your linked articles and cutaway for a couple of classes next month.” I hope you are taking those classes, not teaching them.
Does anyone know how the ejecta of this event compares to recent events, e.g. Pinatubo, Redoubt?
I’m looking forward to many beautiful sunsets!
john ratcliffe:
Thanks for the translation. Otherwise we’d have to rely on Google’s which suggest that the Finnish pilots were flying at far too low an altitude 🙂
“Machines after the decline in machinery and engines are inspected inlet was observed from potato flour, volcanic ash and dust. “
A link from site linked in the discussion points to a gas analysis conducted on the fissure prior to this burp:
The gas composition is in the PDF link.
“The SO2 gas flux produced by the eruption was ~3000 tonnes per day.
Approximately 70% of the SO2 flux was produced by the fissure which opened on 31st
March, with ~30% emitted from the 21st March fissure.
The flux of HF from the eruption was ~30 tonnes per day.
Gas compositions emitted from the two eruption fissures were broadly similar, being very
rich in H2O (>80% by mole), <15 % CO2 and <3% SO2.
Strong variations between 5 and 25 in the SO2/HCl ratio were observed at the 31st March
fissure on the two measurement days, with higher values observed on 1st April when the
activity was apparently more intense than 2nd April."
Lots of nasty stuff.
There’s loads of info available on the ‘Eruptions’ blog-from webcams to near real-time seismography. Worth a look.
Speed (16:54:01) :
Bill Tuttle
First you said, “it’s the abrasion.”
Then you changed you mind — “the ash clogged the intakes.”
First, I addressed why volcanic ash is hazardous to aircraft, which was a *general* statement.
Then I responded to the *specific* incident of BA9.
Then, “the combustion chamber, which is the *final* stage of the engine.” which you later agreed was wrong.
Yup — the power turbine section and exhaust section both are downstream of the combustion section. And they are structurally unimpeded — *open* at either end.
Then, ” … coating the exhaust turbine won’t shut the engine down.” which you later contradicted with the statement, “And that’s all 100% true.”
The entire statement was “Ash deposits in the hot sections of the engines, including fuel nozzles, the combustor and turbine reduce the efficiency of fuel mixing and restrict air passing through the engine. This causes surging, flame out and immediate loss of engine thrust. This loss is the principal cause of engine failure.”
The entire process of coating *all* of the combustion section and the power turbine are contributing factors, not just individual causes. Coating the power turbine by itself won’t do it, because in the BA9 scenario (in which I addressed the *specific*, not the *general*), coating the power turbine with melted silicate particles, solidifying the particles into chunks, then vibrating *some* of those chunks loose, would have resulted in asymmetrical shedding of those solidified ash chunks from the blades (and they need to be *very* finely-balanced for normal operation), leading to an unbalanced power turbine inducing an oscillation in the axle which would have resulted in — at minimum — internal damage to the power accessory gearboxes, which include the fuel pump.
Coating of the interior resulting in a restriction of the airflow and coating the fuel nozzles is the *principle* cause of engine failures, but not the *only* cause — restriction in the airflow at the intake will also cause it, and, as I pointed out, coating the combustion chamber will clog the fuel nozzles, and it will be impossible to get an aerial restart. The BA9 crew *did* get an aerial restart, which means the fuel nozzles were *not* clogged — and if you seal a fuel nozzle with half-melted volcanic ash, it *won’t* clear itself in flight.
And finally, you said, “BTW, I am sooooo stealing your linked articles and cutaway for a couple of classes next month.” I hope you are taking those classes, not teaching them.
Teaching them. I also teach English comprehension, if you want to sit in.
Bill Tuttle (01:07:49) :
“The primary mechanism of engine power loss during these high-engine-power and high-ash-concentration exposures is the build up of melted and resolidified ash material on the stage-1 NGV’s [nozzle guide vanes], resulting in flow-area reduction, turbine-efficiency loss, and compressor stall.”
…
“Time, altitude, and airspeed permitting, the engine can be restarted by the fuel off/on/off cycles, breaking up the deposit material, which is brittle at low temperatures.”
http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1162.pdf
Article begins on page 129.
Speed (06:23:06) :
“Time, altitude, and airspeed permitting, the engine can be restarted by the fuel off/on/off cycles, breaking up the deposit material, which is brittle at low temperatures.”
Article begins on page 129.
But the ace in your hand was on page 92 — it isn’t *vibration* that breaks the re-solidified ash loose, it’s thermal shock from the rapid reduction in temperature, and at 30,000 feet, an engine failure results in a *very* rapid temperature reduction.
*hat tip*
You win!
I’ve been on a few UK racecourses this week. Rich trainers, jockeys and owners are still flying merrily in and out (in air taxis, private jets and helicopters) like characters in a Dick Francis novel
Meanwhile an elderly couple I know who saved for years to go on a world cruise were unable to fly out to join the ship in NY. No doubt there are many such sob stories
Guys, thanks for the mention Herewith more on our (April 18th) WeatherAction long range forecast of the Volcano impacts on European airspace.
FLIGHT PROBLEMS LIKELY TO CONTINUE TO 26th APRIL WARN LONG RANGE FORECASTERS
Piers Corbyn of WeatherAction long range Weather, Climate & solar impact forecasters warns their long range European wind maps & predictions of likely solar effects on Iceland volcano spell ongoing trouble for airspace
http://bit.ly/cPh4YT
I was on a holiday in Sweden and got stranded in the airport for hours. Still, work has to continue so i started working from my laptop –
I wonder what online tools can help in this situation? I use http://www.verishow.com/ , really useful site for online collaboration.
It has been interesting to observe the early morning clear blue skies without the con-trails of air traffic. There has been no development of high level haze, which usually occurs when air traffic is normal. The skies have remained clear blue.