I now officially hate Iceland. I didn't think it was possible as they generally live on their own little island by themselves and do nothing, but this is going to far. I say we nuke them and their volcanos so we don't have to put up with them any more!!

EDIT: motoGP was officially delayed today. They think it will take place near the end of the season.

Hey guys.....Seen as though there has been a volcanic eruption in Iceland do you think there could be a Earthquake in Tesco?

It's real simple, EU. Just bail Iceland out of its financial mess, and Iceland will turn off the volcano. This doesn't have to go on any longer than you want it to go on.

for those seriously interested in the impact, here is a section from the US governments volcano site

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/trans/index.php

Life-threatening and costly damages can occur to aircraft that fly through an eruption cloud. Based on reported damages from ash encounters, the hazard posed to aircraft may extend 2,000 km (3,200 miles) from an erupting volcano. The actual effects of ash on aircraft depend on several factors, including the concentration of volcanic ash and gas aerosols in the cloud, the length of time the aircraft actually spends in the cloud, and the actions taken by the pilots while in the eruption cloud.

Numerous instances of jet aircraft flying into volcanic ash clouds have demonstrated the serious damage that can be sustained. Ash particles are angular fragments having the hardness of a pocket-knife blade and, upon impact with aircraft traveling at speeds of several hundred knots, cause abrasion damage to forward-facing surfaces, including windscreens, fuselage surfaces, and compressor fan blades. Moreover, the melting temperature of the glassy silicate rock material that comprises an ash cloud is lower than the operating temperatures of modern jet engines; consequently, ingested ash particles can melt and then accumulate as re-solidified deposits in the engine. The overall result of an aircraft's flying into an ash cloud can be degraded engine performance (including flame out), loss of visibility, and failure of critical navigational and operational instruments.

Experimental tests (Dunn and Wade, 1994) determined the following mechanisms that can affect aircraft performance due to exposure to a volcanic ash cloud:

(a) Deposition of material on hot-section components.
(b) Erosion of compressor blades and rotor-path components.
Blockage of fuel nozzles and cooling passages.
(d) Contamination of the oil system and bleed-air supply.
(e) Opacity of windscreen and landing lights.
(f) Contamination of electronics.
(g) Erosion of antenna surfaces.
(h) Plugging of the pitot-static system which indicates the airspeed of the aircraft.

An ash cloud eventually dissipates in the atmosphere, and ash concentrations drop. However, the threshold concentration at which ash poses no harm to aircraft is not known, and indeed, may never fully be characterized for all situations involving aircraft. It is usually assumed that ash identifiable on satellite images continues to present a hazard to aircraft. Accordingly, the consensus of the aviation community is that if an ash cloud can be discerned, it should be avoided.

so...they as a nation are to blame somehow for a volcano erupting?

how the heck are they doing that?

The one caveat to that report, Nordlead is how long the volcano is actively spewing ash.

The volcano is still going. Although its decreased its output (the ash isn't going high eas it was), its still going, so depending on how safe Europe wants to protect its citizens, it may not open up air travel for a long time.

The scary part is that the last time this volcano went (AFAIK) it erupted for nearly 2 years long. I couldn't imagine the kind of devastation it would cause Europe if it went on that long.

Also, I am wondering about global cooling on such a volcano. When we have major volcanic events, temperatures usually drop, worldwide. I wonder what kind of effect this volcano will have.

^^^

well, that site wasn't a specific report for any one eruption. It was a page on how to deal with volcanic ash for various transportation systems and the kind of damage it can cause. I was looking for the kind of damage that can be caused by ash due to the posts above saying how some airlines did "tests" to determine if damage was done and claimed everything was fine.

here are satellite images for the last day those interested

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/europe/volcano/iceland.html

Who?

If that was a bad, lazy typo of my name, it was your fault anyways for making a lame joke.

My mom couldn't go on her vacation to Barcelona, my best friends mother is stuck in Spain and a good friend of mine was going to go to south-africa tomorrow, not sure what will happen there. So yeah. Iceland sucks.

Those "successful test flights" are bullshit. Why would we trust the airlines' word on this?

Fact is, the Finland air force has had engine damage on two of their fighter jets, and NATO also had problems on some jets. So just because some airlines managed to do highly controlled flights (some of them at a low altitude of just 3,000 m), that doesn't tell me anything other than that they're really desperate to start making money again.