Everyone: I just had to post this incredible photograph of the new eruption.
It was taken by a man named Ólafur Eggertsson from the farm Þorvaldseyri. It’s been making the rounds in [Icelandic] cyberspace and I don’t know the original source, so can’t post a link.
It just so perfectly illustrates the beauty, magnificence and power of our incredible forces of nature — and how small the human structures are in comparison.
Click to enlarge.
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I think it has first been published on Visir, I used this link: http://www.visir.is/article/2010619874521
Right.
The BBC has decided to go completely over the top on their reporting of this eruption. They have correspondents at four airports across the UK, all telling us the same non-information that people are annoyed cause they can’t go on their holidays. Where’s the coverage of the effects on the Icelanders?
At least The Guardian is providing a simply hilarious liveblog covering the event: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2010/apr/15/volcano-airport-disruption-iceland
Bully us over a lousy few billion and we will kick your ass britischers and will get even,dont get get mad get even and lo and behold Icelanders strike back British airports closed Ha HA
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266038/Iceland-volcano-erupts-second-time-month-forcing-new-evacuation-tourists.html
That will teach them not to be so petty. !! Tink of the economic chaos amounting to oh lets see say 5 billion ha ha.
They tried to cut you off financially from the world and you in return have cut them off physically from the rest of the world, ha ha nice vikings nice.!!!
Fantastic photo! I didn’t expect much when clicking on the link in my RSS feed, but had to say “wow” out loud when I saw it.
This looks amazing and, somehow, threatening.
Meanwhile, the eruption has captured the headlines in Germany, too. Much drama and sensationalist reports about the danger of volcanic ash.
feck it that is a great pic. that farm looks like a nice place to live, too
Yea Dankoozy I have ditched my Van Gogh Sunflowers as a desktop background for the above mentioned pic, tourism can only go up there. just how to get there ?
The BBC is seriously ODing on the story – but on the upside, it has knocked the wretched election off the top-slot of the news.
They’re confusing the effect of Icelandic eruptions with those from the Indonesian volcano Galunggung which stopped all four engines on a BA 747.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9
If it’s any help – ash is pulverised rock and glass with the consistency of anything from fine sand to powder (although it often sticks together like snow flakes). Ash is produced when magma foams like the head on beer (or a soda). The stickier the magma and the more gas, the more ash is produced.
Most Icelandic volcanoes produce very little ash because they’re generally erupting basalt which isn’t sticky and doesn’t contain much gas. What we’re seeing here is the head of the beer, very soon the majority of the gas will be blown off and the volcano will start disgorging liquid lava. If you want to know how an eruption progresses, take a can of soda, give it a vigorous shake and then open it. You get a jet of froth which gradually subsides leaving nothing more than flat liquid in the can.
By contrast, the volcanoes of Indonesia, like those all the way around the Pacific Rim, the Caribbean and southern Italy, have extremely sticky magma containing huge amounts of gas. They explode and throw huge amounts of ash into the stratosphere. These are the real plane killers as the ash is right at the flight level and higher. The eruptions are known as Plinian (after Pliny the Elder who observed the 79CE eruption of Vesuvius) – if you want to see a *small* one, here’s Mount Redoubt in Alaska (which has also been stirring in the last couple of weeks):
http://www.granular-volcano-group.org/images/shots/redoubt_red_cloud_700x501.jpg
HTH.
Mike.
Wow – Mike, that is excellent info. I hope you don’t mind if I stick it on the front page.
if one zooms a litle bit into the picture one can even see the landsbankinn logo and the laughing faces of their previous owners…here we come again uk hehe
@ Alda
No worries. Now who’s willing to pay for me to be this fine blog’s ‘man on the scene’?
Mike – I’ll let you know as soon as I find someone to pay me for writing it.
British Govt. Typo.
According to a well placed friend of mine – one Adrian B. the British Govt are clarifying a typo in a recent message to the Icelandic Govt which should have read ” Send CASH” but the C was left out.
Oh No !!Irish Space closed as well, that’s taking things too far, I may like to remind Icelanders that the state of war only exists between you , the britischers and the flying dutchmen (soon not to be flying ha ha), what did Ireland ever do to you vikings except provide an excellent source of slaves in the 9th century.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/irish-airspace-closed-due-to-volcanic-ash-2139140.html
Found the source:
http://www.visir.is/article/20100414/FRETTIR01/619874521
What a stunning picture! It looks like a painting, not a photo! Iceland has made the front page of all the US news websites, too, and the nice man on Good Morning America even managed to talk about the eruption without going into his Austin Powers/Dr. Evil “Mag-ma” impression, like he did during the last eruption. Progress?
Stay safe, Nicelanders!
WOW. Thanks for posting.
One for any Icelanders who can get the BBC.
You can have endless entertainment waiting for presenters to hit ‘Eyjafjallajökull’. Some of them are wimping out by calling it ‘the Icelandic volcano’, but some go at it and – well – it’s not good – it starts off with a hearty ‘Ay’ before ending in a choking gurgle like someone strangling a horse.
The BBC is doing better than most, but I doubt that their pronunciation unit had the answer to hand. Sky and ITV on the other hand…
But worst og all, Queen Margaret of Denmark is celebraing her 70. birthday.. Unfortunately, some of her most prominent guests are kept away from flying to Denmark because of the ashes.
Nice picture btw..
This beautiful photo has made the front page of msnbc.com. I hope Mr. Eggertsson is getting a nice paycheck for this stunning photo.
I found the full size version and wow, just wow. When the weather clears (the eruption is causing its own weather) there should be some crazy pics. I’ve seen some of the massive waterfalls as the glacier releases all that energy. Even lava falls, wow.
Now if this doesn’t calm the Brits down then you still have one more card to play. Katla. When it blows I expect some real coverage. And a cooler summer for me. thanks Niceland!.
@Sigrun, yesterday that site had two pics and at a higher resolution. It is the now missing pic that I like even better. It is my desktop background. Stunning though.
There are some webcams over at http://eldgos.mila.is . The weather and positioning makes it hit or miss though.
its also used in BT.dk I also hope Mr. Eggertsson is getting a nice paycheck for this stunning photo.
Link: http://www.bt.dk/udland/vi-var-raedselsslagne
wow, amazing how green the grass is there already – hope it isn’t grey by now
Amazing photo!
DeeZee – fab ‘n funny.
Despite a 93 year old relative stuck in Dublin instead of Gatwick I’ve been yelling at the radio all day because it doesn’t seem to have crossed the minds of the people at the BBC that Iceland is a country with people in it and that, actually, some of us might think it important, and of interest, to know what is happening on the ground there.
The photo was on the front page of the newspaper here in Vancouver, Canada, today.
http://www.vancouversun.com/
Today’s BBC One O’Clock News had this photo on its huge studio backdrop screen, maybe they will use it in other bulletins. Well done that photographer! It has been breathtaking to watch footage of the eruption – as if the billowing ash clouds weren’t enough there is lightning as well – what an incredible display. I was already fascinated enough by Iceland to make me book a trip to Reyjavik this coming July, but this is now stuff of legend. Of course it can’t be much fun for all the stranded travellers and also those Icelanders who have been affected – but it’s certainly created a unique shared experience which has connected vast numbers of people in Europe and beyond, and for that – nice one!
This picture is a photoshop:
http://www.petapixel.com/2010/04/21/reuters-retracts-icelandic-volcano-photo/
will – yes of COURSE it is photoshopped. Anyone could see that!
Oh well, shame they felt the need to post-process it, bit of a con. I think the original is just as impressive anyway. Is that available in large size anywhere?
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