Geneva - Europeans should try to stay indoors if ash from Iceland's volcano starts settling, the World Health Organization warned Friday as small amounts fell in Iceland, Scotland and Norway.
WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein said the microscopic ash is potentially dangerous for people when it starts to reach the Earth because inhaled particles can enter the lungs and cause respiratory problems.
"We're very concerned about it," Epstein said. "These particles when inhaled can reach the peripheral regions of ... the lungs and can cause problems - especially for people with asthma or respiratory problems." He also said Europeans who go outside might want to consider wearing a mask.
Earth Changes
© Getty Images
For Dave Laney, beekeeping is not only a hobby, but a family business. His warehouse in New Liberty is stocked with hundreds of bottles of honey.
"Even in these bad economic times, our business is hanging in there because people like good honey," Laney said.
To keep up with demand, Laney counts on the hard-working honey bees more than ever as populations continue to drop.
"We have a product in high demand," said Laney. "We're concerned to be able to get that product."
Banda - Local residents claim the seabed near Banyak Island in Aceh Singkil district, Aceh, has risen dramatically since the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on April 7.
They also say they have seen an undersea fissure spewing out mud and rocks. But experts are not so sure about the supposed geological phenomenon.
Banyak islander Mufliadi told the Jakarta Globe the phenomenon was first noted on Tuesday by fisherman Ruslan, who had been trawling for sea cucumbers in the Gosong Turak waters around Pailana Island, just off Banyak.
"He was shocked and came back to tell us what he'd seen because the site is a prime fishing spot for the local fisherman," Mufliadi said on Thursday.
Ruslan had been shocked to find layer upon layer of rocks and no fish in the area. The fisherman also reported a 10-meter-long fissure shaped like a frying pan.
Before the quake, the water in Gosong Turak had been 20 to 30 meters deep but now was just five meters, he said.
On Wednesday, hundreds of villagers dove into the water to see the change for themselves and take rock samples.
"The black rocks were the size of a person's head, and crumbled easily," Mufliadi said. "When we burned the rocks, a very strong odor was emitted."
They also say they have seen an undersea fissure spewing out mud and rocks. But experts are not so sure about the supposed geological phenomenon.
Banyak islander Mufliadi told the Jakarta Globe the phenomenon was first noted on Tuesday by fisherman Ruslan, who had been trawling for sea cucumbers in the Gosong Turak waters around Pailana Island, just off Banyak.
"He was shocked and came back to tell us what he'd seen because the site is a prime fishing spot for the local fisherman," Mufliadi said on Thursday.
Ruslan had been shocked to find layer upon layer of rocks and no fish in the area. The fisherman also reported a 10-meter-long fissure shaped like a frying pan.
Before the quake, the water in Gosong Turak had been 20 to 30 meters deep but now was just five meters, he said.
On Wednesday, hundreds of villagers dove into the water to see the change for themselves and take rock samples.
"The black rocks were the size of a person's head, and crumbled easily," Mufliadi said. "When we burned the rocks, a very strong odor was emitted."
© Anthony Ayiomamitis
Northeastern outskirts of Athens, Greece
Northeastern outskirts of Athens, Greece
© USGS
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 23:59:38 UTC
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 05:59:38 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location:
41.703°N, 111.104°W
Depth:
0.5 km (~0.3 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region:
UTAH
Distances:
8 km (5 miles) ENE (57°) from Randolph, UT
21 km (13 miles) NNE (13°) from Woodruff, UT
23 km (14 miles) SE (127°) from Laketown, UT
50 km (31 miles) NNW (347°) from Evanston, WY
124 km (77 miles) NNE (32°) from Salt Lake City, UT
© Spiegel Online
Estimated coverage of ash plume across Europe, with flights, at 4 p.m. CET
Estimated coverage of ash plume across Europe, with flights, at 4 p.m. CET
The Netherlands-based European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, or Eurocontrol, says the flight cancellations represent the most serious interruption of plane traffic in the history of air travel. Because of a massive ash plume from a volcano under the Iclandic glacier of Eyjafjallajökull, which erupted Wednesday, around one-quarter of all flights in Europe have been cancelled.
Some 28,000 flights depart daily from European airports. Eurocontrol estimates that air traffic will be affected for another 48 hours.
On Thursday afternoon airspace over Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland and several Scandinavian countries was fully closed. Air traffic over Belgium and the Netherlands has also been reduced and was expected to stop completely between 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Flights over the Atlantic have been re-routed to the south in order to avoid the plume.
So far German air traffic is unimpaired, according to Peter Ramsauer, Federal Minister for Transport. Closing German airspace is not expected to be necessary, and any important measures for German flights will be announced over a weather warning system.
© Ramirez
Not so. If you want incontrovertible evidence that it is business as usual for the arrogant academic establishment, today has provided it. In the popular jargon, they still don't get it. They imagine the AGW scam will go on forever, along with all the other lies with which the political class deluges the public. This effort is too sloppy really to merit the term whitewash: the sceptical graffiti are still clearly visible through the transparent white coating.
"We found a small group of dedicated if slightly disorganised researchers who were ill-prepared for being the focus of public attention," said Oxburgh. I love that. It paints a moving (in the way a Disney animated cartoon is tear-jerking) picture of some loveable boffins, unversed in the ways of the world, being dragged out, blinking, into the glare of publicity, like embarrassed lottery winners. All it needs is Snow White. Here were we thinking that Phil Jones was a ruthless manipulator blocking the publication of colleagues' sceptical views, but he turns out to be Susan Boyle in a white coat.
Thou shalt not ask questions
Norfolk Constabulary is trying to work out who stole thousands of emails from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia at the end of last year.
The emails, that were posted on the internet, appear to show scientists were unwilling to reveal data on global warming and led to an international scandal known as 'climategate'.
Already prominent climate change sceptics around the world have been questioned and members of staff at the university, but is has now emerged that ordinary members of the public who did nothing more than request information are also being targeted.
Sebastian Nokes, a businessman and climate change sceptic, wrote to a national newspaper to complain.
© ESA
Carried by winds high up in the atmosphere, the cloud of ash from the eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in southwest Iceland has led to the closure of airports throughout the UK and Scandinavia, with further disruption in northern Europe expected later today. The ash, which can be seen as the large grey streak in the image, is drifting from west to east at a height of about 11 km above the surface Earth. It poses a serious danger to aircraft engines; hence the airspace shut down.
© NEODAAS/University of Dundee/PA
An image from Nasa's Terra satellite shows the volcanic ash plume travelling from Iceland to the north of the UK
An image from Nasa's Terra satellite shows the volcanic ash plume travelling from Iceland to the north of the UK
The United Kingdom's airspace was closed about noon Thursday (7 a.m. ET) and will be closed until at least 7 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) Friday, air traffic authorities said. Delta Air Lines has suspended service into and out of the UK for the rest of Thursday, spokesman Anthony Black said.
"At this point, it's only the UK (other flights have departed/arrived for the day). We will automatically rebook any cancelled flights. We are waiting to hear additional info from European air traffic controllers before we make any other adjustments," Black said in an e-mail.
Refunds will be available for Delta flights that are canceled or significantly delayed. The airline also will allow travelers to make a one-time change to tickets to or from London and Amsterdam free of charge for travel scheduled through April 18, according to its Web site. Rescheduled flights must originate no later than May 31.
Comment: According to USGS, there were a number of earthquakes in close proximity to this one and all at shallow depths.