• Eyjafjallajokull: Volcanic ash clouds and societal impact

    Ash clouds from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull have caused extreme disruptions to scheduled aircraft flights as the clouds drifted over northern to central and eastern Europe and affected hundreds of thousand of travelers on all continents. This confirms again the fact that today an extreme natural event may cause economical damage up to several billions euros with a possible chain reaction expanding to a world-wide financial crisis, economic depression and/or an ecological catastrophe.

    As a response to the societal impact of the recent Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruptions, the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) has issued a statement on volcanic ash clouds. The statement particularly emphasizes that experts in explosive volcano eruptions, in volcanic ash cloud dynamics, and in health hazards of volcanoes works together with the U.N. specialized agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) "to understand better the physics, chemistry and dynamics of volcanic clouds and to find ways for pilots to distinguish volcanic ash clouds from normal clouds”.

    Copies of the Statement were distributed at the Congressional Briefings on Reducing Volcano Risks in the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on 21 April. The briefings were attended by media, congressional staff, and other interested stakeholders. More information can be found at Hazardcaucus.org Thanks to Ms. Linda Rowan, Director of Government Affairs, American Geological Institute, for her assistance in distribution of the Statement at the briefings.