Chilean Volcano Continues to Disrupt Air Travel (videos)

More than 60,000 passengers have been stranded as for the third straight day, a cloud of ash from an erupting volcano in southern Chile disrupted air travel in South America, Australia and New Zealand. The volcano in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle chain in Chile has been erupting for several days, spewing ash high into the atmosphere and this cloud of ash has been spreading eastward around the globe in the southern hemisphere. South American air travel is in chaos as disruptions are being felt in Argentina and Chile as well as Brazil and Uruguay. While some flights have resumed in certain areas like Melbourne, planes to and from New Zealand and Adelaide, Australia remain on the ground Tuesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flying to Buenos Aires late Sunday saw his flight diverted to Cordoba in northern Argentina because of the volcanic ash. It was reported that he was then forced to travel to Buenos Aires by bus overnight for a meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

The Chilean volcano erupted 10 days ago and it is now reported that the ash cloud has stretched some 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles). Reports say that the volcanic ash closed roads and schools In Argentina’s southern Patagonia region and blanketed a ski resort and turned an Andean lake a deep charcoal gray color.

Reuters reported: Air travel in northern Europe and Britain was disrupted last month after Iceland’s most active volcano at Grimsvotn sent a thick plume of ash and smoke up 15.5 miles. Last April, the eruption of another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, led to 100,000 canceled flights, affecting 10 million people at a cost of $1.7 billion. That was worse than the Chile disruption because it spread ash throughout the air column, from ground level to the upper atmosphere.

While air travel is being disrupted, it is note-worthy that not all air travel has been affected. Reports are pointing out that the ash cloud is in the upper atmosphere at 20,000 to 35,000 feet and jets usually fly above 29,000 feet, the most fuel-efficient cruising altitude as flying below that altitude, the altitude of the ash cloud, is not considered to be economical.

The problem is that ash contains fine particles which can to clog up the engines. An engine running at an extremely high temperature can actually turn ash into a substance similar to molten glass and stop the turbine blades from turning. The abrasiveness of the dust is also an issue as it can make the windscreen impossible to see out of and strip the paint from the aircraft like sandblasting.

(VOA, Reuters, CNN)

Published on Jun 14, 2011 by AssociatedPress

Chile Volcano Ash Halts More Australian Flights

Volcano ash from an eruption in Chile has halted flights to another Australian city, although some passengers in the region were confused by some carriers’ decisions to fly.

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Jun 6, 2011

Spectacular video of lightning inside Chile Puyehue volcano ash cloud

And some spectacular pictures for you, as lightning provided a dazzling display of an erupting Chile volcano. It’s been shooting out a massive cloud of smoke, ash and rocks up to ten kilometres high for almost two days. Thousands have been forced to flee the area, but there have been no reports of injuries. Chile has around 500 volcanoes considered active.

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