BACKGROUND: Useful websites for Europe's volcanic flight chaos

Reykjavik/Brussels - A look up to the sky is not the best way to get an idea of the Europe-wide chaos caused by the eruptions from an Icelandic volcano.

Instead a click on the internet can easily explain why the closure of European airspace has such dramatic consequences.

dpa lists some links that help:

EUROPE RADAR: Airplane enthusiasts have created a page that shows the ongoing aircraft traffic worldwide. They use the antenna signals sent out by modern airplanes to locate them. There seems to be a gaping hole above Europe: http://dpaq.de/flugradar_europa

WEB CAM: The Icelandic tourism board recommends a link that leads to a web cam providing almost live footage of the eruptions. The pictures are updated every two minutes:http://dpaq.de/vulkan_kamera

MAP 1: The UK's National Weather Service publishes maps showing where the ash cloud is moving to: http://dpaq.de/wetteramt_gb

MAP 2: The German National Weather Service put photos on its website that have been taken by a satellite over Africa. Its special camera can detect clouds containing volcanic ash. Those regions appear orange on the photos: http://dpaq.de/dwd_satbilder

SIMULATION 1: The BBC simulated the normal commercial air traffic over Britain using lines that illustrate the tracks airplanes follow. The short video is on Youtube: http://dpaq.de/bbc_uk_flieger

SIMULATION 2: The university for Applied Sciences in Zurich has collected the data of a normal day in worldwide civil air traffic. A video presents the result in a 24 hour time-lapse showing Europe as a gigantic hub of international travel. It can be watched on Youtube or on the university's website: http://dpaq.de/hochschulehttp://dpaq.de/flugwelt_24std

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/319226,background-useful-websites-for-europes-volcanic-flight-chaos.html.