Few days back we first heard about Eyjafjallajokull (which i find it difficult to pronounce), then we learnt about “volcanic ashes” and many other questions followed up until this date. Few Q&A are listed below to answer the “curious cat in you”:

What is Eyjafjallajokull:

pronounced [ˈɛɪjaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥], translated as “island-mountains glacier”) ( listen (help·info)) is one of the smallerglaciers of Iceland. The icecap of the glacier covers a volcano (1,666 metres or 5,466 ft in height) which has erupted relatively frequently since the Ice Age.^[1]

The volcano, which has a crater 3–4 kilometres (1.9–2.5 mi) in diameter, erupted in 920, 1612 and again from 1821 to 1823 when it caused a fatal glacial lake outburst flood.^[2]Most recently it erupted twice in 2010 – on 20 March and 14 April. The March event forced a brief evacuation of around 500 local people^[3][4], but the April eruption was ten to twenty times more powerful and caused massive disruption to air traffic across Northern Europe.

Wikipedia

What do we mean by “volcanic ash cloud“:

volcanic ash cloud: dailymail

Volcanic ash is released into the atmosphere along with molten lava and smoke during a volcanic eruption. It is a grit or fine dust of abrasive, corrosive glass and rock, with each particle less than 2mm in diameter. When thick in the atmosphere, volcanic ash darkens the sky and can cause lightning storms.

A cloud formulates after the eruption of a volcano consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass

• Tephras are less than 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in diameter.
• Volcanic ash can lead to breathing problems, malfunctions in machinery, and from more severe eruptions, years of global cooling.
• Ash deposited on the ground after an eruption is known as ashfall deposit.
• Ashfall can lead to the immediate destruction of most of the local ecosystem, as well the collapse of roofs on man-made structures

source

How does it affect the airspace:

• It is very harmful due to the extreme problems caused to the aircraft and the safety issues:
• Reduces visibility for pilots
• Causes partial or total damage to the engine power loss
• Damage aircraft ventilation and air data system

What happens if an aircraft passed in a volcanic ash cloud:

• If volcanic ash particles are ingested into a jet engine, they accumulate and clog the engine with molten glass.
• Causes sandblast to the windscreen and clogs the engines
• Blocks the ventilation holes that bleed in cooling air
• Pilots need to throttle back and loose height to drope below the ash cloud. Clean & cold air will shatter the glass and unclog the engines

Any Previous Incidents:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are all doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”

That was the public address (PA) announcement made by Capt. Eric Moody to the 247 passengers of British Airways Flight 9, 22 years ago on June 24, 1982. It was made a few moments after losing all four engines on the B747 from a penetration into a cloud of volcanic ash at 37,000 feet. source

The flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Perth in Australia.

Engines stopped for 14-15 minutes and he glided the aircraft about 80 nautical miles and went down 37,000ft to about 12,000ft.

Future Threats:

The fear that Katla, a neighbouring larger volcano in Iceland could be “stirred to life”.

“There is a historical and geological linkage of Eyjafjallajokull erupting together with Katla, but we don’t see any measurable evidence that a larger and more hazardous eruption is due,”Matthew Roberts, a glaciologist at the Iceland Meteorological Office said.

How long would it last:

Unidentified, they need to monitor the movement. It could be weeks, it could be months.

Cost:

The disaster is estimated to be costing airlines $200 million a day, but the economic damage will roll through to farms, retail establishments and nearly any other business that depends on air cargo shipments. Fresh produce will spoil, and supermarkets in Europe, used to year-round supplies, will begin to run out. source

Neil Morris, from Deloitte’s aviation team, said: “We estimate that the cost to British and Irish scheduled airlines from the closure of British airspace is likely to be between £26m and £28m per day. source

Hotel cars were charging $5,600 to drive to Paris, according to Reuters, while journalists were being offered a bus ride to Brussels. source

The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, said that at current levels of disruption, its initial and conservative estimate of the financial impact on airlines is in excess of $200 million a day in lost revenue.

Prior to the eruption, IATA had forecast that the airline industry would incur a $2.8 billion loss in 2010, down from the $9.4 billion loss the industry suffered in 2009. It had trimmed its forecast for this year from $5.6 billion previously as emerging markets of Asia-Pacific and Latin America experienced a recovery in passenger numbers and cargo volumes.

source

Precautions & what to do:

There is a long list, but i’ll just put few important points:

• If there’s an ash fall warning, leave work and go home.
• Avoid driving. If you must drive, make sure your car has an air filter (even a dirty one), and drive carefully, leaving plenty of clearance between your car and the ones ahead of and behind you.
• Protect your lungs and eyes. Wear a mask, remove contact lenses, wear goggles.
• Make sure your water is clean and so are the containers you are using.

Read more info on precautions here

Random links:

Iceland’s disruptive volcano – Boston’s Big Picture – PICS

Volcanic Ash Forces Obama to Cancel Poland Trip

Hollywood vs. The Volcano: Ash disrupts celebs

UK Airspace Ban Extended To 1pm Sunday

Sources:

Airline Industry Starts Counting the Cost of Volcano Ash

Volcanic Dust Cloud: All You Need To Know

Iceland Volcano: Why a could of ash has grounded flights

Volcano continues to ground flights as ash cloud spread over Europe

How to Protect Yourself from a Volcanic Ash Fall and Its Health Hazards

So far, Icelandic volcano isn’t likely to cause a cooler summer

Consequences mount as volcano ash lingers