This, I've been led to understand, is the primary reason behind grounding flights in Europe. yet, I learned yesterday from a dear friend that there are still moe-rons out there who are paying up to $9000 to fly about anyway.
On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 5:36 PM, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: > > > Amazing... > > ************************************************************** > > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100420/sc_livescience/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures > > Andrea > Thompson<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byline/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=11q4atp62;_ylt=AlAtSSGhKisWLiPBn0tZPDizvtEF;_ylu=X3oDMTFhbG83MDR2BHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9zdG9yeV9ieWxpbmUEc2xrA2FuZHJlYXRob21wcw--/*http://www.livescience.com/php/contactus/author.php?r=at> > LiveScience Senior Writer > LiveScience.com<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byline/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=10sog4vj6/*http://www.livescience.com> > andrea > Thompson<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byline/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/sig=11q4atp62/*http://www.livescience.com/php/contactus/author.php?r=at> > livescience Senior Writer > livescience.com<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byline/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/sig=10sog4vj6/*http://www.livescience.com> > – > Tue Apr 20, 11:03 am ET > > It may look like the special effects from a disaster movie, but the bolts > of lightning photographed in the plume of the ash-spewing Icelandic volcano > are real. Thing is, the process that creates volcano lightning remains a bit > of a mystery. > > Several photographers have taken pictures of the stunning light > show<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=1am6v7oag/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=environment&c=news&l=on&pic=volcano-lightning-1-100420-02.jpg&cap=The+Eyjafjallajokull+volcano+in+Iceland%2C+which+began+erupting+on+Wednesday%2C+April+14%2C+has+been+churning+out+volcanic+ash+that%27s+electrified+with+lightning.+Credit%3A+Olivier+Vandeginste.&title=>shooting > from the angry mouth of Eyjafjallajokull, which has been pumping a > cloud of ash into the atmosphere for several days. In addition to the > spectacular electric storm in its plume, the volcano has created colorful > sunsets<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=12id0gokc/*http://www.livescience.com/environment/iceland-volcano-plume-sunsets-100416.html>around > the world with its ash, which has also hampered air travel over > Europe. > > Scientists have long known the plumes that shoot from the mouths of > erupting volcanoes can produce sheaths of lightning. While lightning is > typically associated with thunderstorms, hurricanes and other severe > weather, the roiling debris clouds of volcanoes can also produce them. > > The lighting in volcanic plumes is connected to the rotation that these > plumes undergo, something like a tornado. As a plume > rotates<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=124vmla8n/*http://www.livescience.com/environment/090325-volcano-tornado.html>, > it can spawn waterspouts or dust devils, which gather together the electric > charges in the plume to form a sheath of lightning. > > Scientists don't know exactly how lightning is created in an ash cloud, > however. But they expect it's a result of particles rubbing together, > generating friction and electrical charges. > > The volcano lightning may be generated in a similar way to that in normal > thunderstorms in a process scientists have dubbed "dirty thunderstorms." In > a normal thunderstorm, ice particles rub together to generate an electrical > charge; in the case of a volcano, rock fragments, ash and ice may all rub > together to produce this charge. > > When particles become charged during an eruption isn't known though, and > scientists are just beginning to get a good look inside the plumes that > generate the lightning - an unfriendly environment to be sure. > > One such opportunity came with the eruption of Alaska's Mount Redoubtalmost > exactly a year ago. Redoubt's eruption also produced a lightning > display that scientists were able to "see" through the dust and gas of the > eruption with an array of sensors deployed at the volcano. > > Several photographers were on hand to snap images of Eyjafjallajokull. > Olivier Vandeginste was just outside the Iceland town of Hvolsvollur during > some of the eruption and spent several hours photographing the spectacular > lightning > show<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=17mrv7m2v/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=environment&c=news&l=on&pic=volcano-lightning-6-100420-02.jpg&cap=Lightning+in+the+ash+plume+of+Iceland%27s+Eyjafjallajokull+volcano.+Credit%3A+Olivier+Vandeginste.&title=>. > > > "Truly a wonderful experience to see the lightning crawl around the lava > eruption. A pity we couldn't get any closer," Vandeginste, who is still > happily stuck in Iceland due to cancelled flights, told LiveScience. > > Just how long Eyjafjallajokull will continue to belch ash into the air > isn't known, though the volcano seems to have quieted down in the last few > days. Icelandic geologists are keeping an eye on it and the island nation's > many other volcanoes, including a neighbor of Eyjafjallajokull that has a > history > of copycat > eruptions<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/mysteriousvolcanolightningcreatesprettypictures/35879645/SIG=12lochlb4/*http://www.livescience.com/environment/iceland-volcano-related-eruption-100419.html>. > > > > -- "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
