Kamchatka’s Shiveluch volcanic eruption threatens air traffic

Posted on September 2, 2011 by The Extinction Protocol
September 2, 2011 – KAMCHATKA – Far East Russia’s Shiveluch volcano spewed ash high into the atmosphere over the Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as into key international air traffic routes across the North Pacific. One column of ash on Monday reached an altitude of more than five miles, posing a threat to aircraft. Russia’s National Geophysical Service said that ash discharges from Shiveluch increased in intensity and volume over the weekend, and were punctuated by Monday’s blast. The closest human settlement to the volcano’s crater is about 30 miles away. Shiveluch was relatively dormant for a few decades before it started to show signs of renewed unrest in 2006. Its last major eruption was in 1964. It is one of a string of volcanoes situated along the Kamchatka Peninsula, one of the world’s most active seismic zone. The latest blast occurred as an international workshop on seismic hazards was underway in the Kamchatka city of Petropavlovsk.-Earth Week
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4 Responses to Kamchatka’s Shiveluch volcanic eruption threatens air traffic

  1. Michele B says:
    September 2, 2011 at 10:03 pm

    Don’t these pilots know how to fly by instruments alone?

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    • The Extinction Protocol says:
      September 2, 2011 at 10:18 pm

      The ash clouds are the danger. It clogs ceramic parts of engines. Temperatures inside an jet engine reach up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and ceramic thermal-barrier coatings insulate metallic engine parts from that heat. The ingested ash melts onto the coating and penetrates the coating. Upon cooling, the molten ash forms a brittle glass that flakes off, taking the coating with it. There have been horrific stories of airplane engines stopping while flying through volcanic ash clouds while the pilots raced to restart the engines in a crash descent before the plane hit the ground.

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      • Michele B says:
        September 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm

        Thanks for the explanation! That makes complete sense. It also makes me wonder how air traffic would be affected WORLDWIDE with the eruption of a supervolcano. Might be the least of our worries, but still is something I hadn’t considered before.

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