Volcano dust and effects on the skiing
Ash haze over Cero Catedral and San Carlos de Bariloche
It’s still here, the ash that is. The eruption of the Puyehue-Cordón-Caulle volcano is still causing disruption in Argentina.
The eruption on June 5th caused havoc and is still effecting air traffic here in Argentina and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand. As over 48% of their revenue comes from tourism, Bariloche and the surrounding ski areas are badly affected. Where many shops at the ski station were open and thriving last year, this year you see them boarded up. It is difficult for many to get here due to the closed airports. The ash is still being thrown out and is hanging in the air most days. If we are lucky enough to get a westerly breeze then the haze will move away….over to Chile. Not good for the neighbours over the other side of the Andes though.
It is strange to think that we are carrying out a BASI gap course under the shadow of this huge natural phenomenon! Millions of tons of ash must have been blown high into the atmosphere to cover such a large area. The Volcano is 90 kilometres away, not far when you think that it is affecting New Zealand!
Take a look at these links to see the scale of the eruption. http://bit.ly/lMTM25
Makes for an interesting BASI course though!
