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Why I went on strike over civil servant pay

On the day that the chancellor delivered his budget, 15 March, I went on strike. I’d never been on strike before, so it was a big deal for me. The strikes were over low pay in the civil service and … Continue reading

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Volcanic ash layers in Svalbard hold clues to the formation of the North Atlantic

This is a guest post by Dr Morgan Jones, a Researcher in Volcanology at the Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) at the University of Oslo, Norway. It describes his new study along with colleagues at CEED and the Massachusetts … Continue reading

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Recommended sources of information on Katla volcano

Seismic activity has been high at Katla during the past 24 hours.  The aviation colour code has been changed from green to yellow (Volcano is experiencing signs of elevated unrest above known background levels) and the Icelandic Civil Protection have … Continue reading

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A sedimentologist’s guide to volcanic particle grain size (and foetal development)

volcan01010 is taking part in Paige Brown Jarreau’s #SciBlogReaders study.  It aims to understand why people read science blogs.  If you have a few minutes spare between now and Halloween, please take the survey.  The results will help understand science … Continue reading

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Bárðarbunga: satellites and computer models quantify sulphur dioxide release

This is a guest post by Anja Schmidt, an Academic Research Fellow at Leeds University, and Claire Witham of the Met Office’s Atmospheric Dispersion Group. It describes Anja’s paper quantifying the sulphur dioxide gas release from the 2014 eruption of … Continue reading

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Installing Linux on Lenovo Thinkpad 11e

EDIT: 2018-11-30 I have been running this laptop for 3 years now.  I love the keyboard and, with Linux, it is reasonably fast (for the size and price).  It also feels sturdy as I had hoped.  However, there were three … Continue reading

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How big are the grains in a volcanic ash cloud?

Ever since European airspace was temporarily shut down during the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, aircraft in the region have been allowed to fly through parts of volcanic ash clouds where the concentration is low. Satellite-based infrared sensors can be used … Continue reading

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How do satellites map volcanic ash clouds?

Explosive eruptions can spread volcanic ash across continent-scale distances. Ash from the 2011 eruption of Chile’s Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano went right around the globe. The only realistic way of monitoring them is from space. Most people are familiar with the … Continue reading

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How to watch the eclipse on the side of your car

There will be a solar eclipse visible in the UK on Friday (20 March), peaking at around 09:30-09:45 in the morning, depending on where you are.  This BBC News article describes when and where it will be visible.  It also … Continue reading

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Four years of volcan01010: Highlights of 2014

Four years!  Well, that’s gone by pretty quickly.  Check out this post for highlights from the last 12 months.  As always, expect Iceland, volcanoes, Python and open source software/GIS. Iceland and volcanoes (volcan…) This year on the blog has been … Continue reading

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