Iceland volcano activity increases, more travel disruptions

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Scientists say Iceland volcano activity increases, more travel disruptions

PAISLEY DODDS Associated Press Writer, April 17, 2010

A geologist says activity has increased at an erupting Icelandic volcano,

causing an ash plume to rise some 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) into the air.

Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson of the University of Iceland says winds have cleared

visibility for scientists and Saturday will be the first day they can fly above

the volcano to assess the activity.

Once scientists determine how much ice has melted, it will be easier to say how

long the eruption could last.

An ash plume that has disrupted travel across Europe has been caused by hot

magma being cooled quickly by the melting ice cap.

Gudmundsson says as long as there is enough ice, more plumes could form —

causing even more travel disruption.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's

earlier story is below.

LONDON (AP) — Officials further extended no-fly restrictions over Europe

Saturday as a vast, invisible plume of grit continued to billow out of an

Icelandic volcano and drift across the continent.

The flight ban seemed likely to disrupt world leaders' plans to attend Sunday's

state funeral for Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife in the

southern city of Krakow.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan was the first to announce he was

canceling his trip to Poland. An 11-member delegation led by Chung had planned

to leave on Saturday, said Shin Bu-seop, an official of the prime minister's

office.

So far, President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German

Chancellor Merkel are still on the list of attendees. Kaczynski's family

insisted Friday they wanted the funeral to go forward as planned but there was

no denying the ash cloud was moving south and east.

On Saturday, British officials extended their closure of airspace until at least

7 p.m. (1800 GMT; 2 p.m. EDT), and reintroduced the ban over Scotland and

northern England. The Belgian, French and Swiss governments extended their ban

until the same time.

Italian aviation authorities were closing airspace in northern Italy on Saturday

until midday (1000 GMT; 6 a.m. EDT), with airports in Milan and Venice to close.

Germany shut down all of its international airports, including Munich and

furt, Europe's third-busiest terminal, until at least 2 p.m. (1200 GMT; 8

a.m. EDT). National carrier Lufthansa said it was canceling all flights through

8 p.m. (1800GMT; 2 p.m. EDT) Saturday.

Serbia also closed a small strip of its airspace in the north of the country and

said it could close more later.

Australia's Qantas canceled all flights to Europe on Saturday, and passengers

were being offered refunds or seats on the next available flight. The airline

said it was not known when flights would resume. Cathay Pacific was already

canceling some Europe-bound flights leaving Hong Kong on Sunday.

Fears that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger

passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail have shut down air space at one

time or another over much of Europe in recent days.

" I've been flying for 40 years but I've never seen anything like this in

Europe, " said Swedish pilot Axel Alegren, after landing his flight from Kabul,

Afghanistan, at Munich Airport; he had been due to land at furt but was

diverted.

" What we're experiencing is very, very unique. Basically Europe is turning into

a no-fly zone right now, like the U.S. after 9/11, " Alegren said. " It's going to

be chaos in the next few days but it will also be something that nobody will

ever forget in aviation. " ...

Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the

Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge and has a history of devastating eruptions. One of

the worst was the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcano, which spewed a toxic cloud

over Europe, killing tens of thousands.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/sns-ap-eu-iceland-volcano,0,1670826.story