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Monday 26 April 2010

Haiku #126

Snaps from satellites
reveal the truth - the ash cloud
really never was.

17 comments:

Karen said...

Now this story, I'd like to hear.

steven said...

dave whenever i saw the pics it looked to be a fairly concentrated plume but i wonder about the spread of particulate matter that is too fine to register from space. you'll have to open up your knowledge vault on this one dave. what do you know?!! steven

Barry said...

I can think of a few weary travelers who would find that fact VERY interesting.

Unknown said...

Hi Dave,

I'm sure we will learn much from this latest episode. All to the good.

CiCi said...

Seriously????

Tess Kincaid said...

It doesn't surprise me at all.

Dianne said...

Ahhh, but look up National Geographic's story on Global Dimming. The fine particulate matter is cooling and shading our ocean life dependent on the sunlight.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE THE WAY THIS FLOWS TOGETHER. VERY INTERESTING AND DOWNRIGHT AMAZING.

Kass said...

When I act like an ash
I usually blow off steam
Eyjafjallajökull (translation: eventually).

Linda Sue said...

Pictures lie! I know for a fact that this is true- I have taken pictures of myself and I look nothing like that old shriveled mass captured in the photo! Do not trust pictures!

Tommaso Gervasutti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tommaso Gervasutti said...

All of this because of a lie then, cancelled flights, all the fuss?
As willow I woudn't be much surprised.
Or is it a metaphor?
Anyway I enjoyed the concision and sharpness of this haiku.

Ronda Laveen said...

Did anyone tell that to the volcano?

Mariana Soffer said...

Neat haiku about space and many other believed fantasies.

Dave King said...

All
Fabulous response. Thank you all very much - but don't forget that you heard it here first (my Haiku about the brightening skies beneath the ash cloud)!

Yes, seriously folk. My source was yesterday's Mail, a piece by Sean Poulter, the Consumer Affairs Editor. The salient points of which were:

Satellite images now indicate that the skies were always largely clear.

At the start of the crisis there was a lack of definitive data.


For some of the time the density of ash above the UK was close to undetectable.

The decision to ban flights was based on a Met Office computer projection which painted a picture of clouds of ash being blown from the volcano.

These models should have been tested by the Met Office's own research plane - which was in a hangar for repainting.

The ash achieved a maximum density of 1/20th of the the limit that is now regarded as unsafe.

Elizabeth said...

Gosh, this is sort of fascinating.
My cousin in Balham thinks her loss of voice etc was caused by an allergic reaction to dust ( she is not usually a hyperchondriac).
This is the first time I heard that maybe the flights were cancelled in error.
However, I live in NY and people are now dying from exposure to the 9/11 dust which we were told at the time was 'safe'!!! (it did smell horrible though.....)

Dave King said...

Elizabeth
Yes, I thought - still think - we had some ash drop on us, but an insignificant amount in terms of aviation - less than we sometimes get from the sand blown over from the Sahara.