Eyjafjalljokull volcano - then and now!

You might be interested to know that Eyjafjalljokull has quietened down tremendously since its rather spectacular eruption in April. Follow the latest updates on the Iceland meteorological website the crater is beginning to fill with water and it is just steam now which is filling the air. The ash has also provided some extra nutrients and the grass and crops are seemingly thriving. Scientists are watching this carefully.

If you would like to see what is happening and to monitor the earthquakes in Iceland the meteorological office has a fantastic website where you can see the earthquake activity.

Take a look now at the latest picture of this sleeping volcano.

If you haven't been to Iceland before and would like to see for yourself how inspiring a trip might be we are offering two teacher inspection trips  - October 2010 and May 2011 register for details now to check if you qualify for a free place.

We also are delighted to welcome back schools who travel with us regularly and will be announcing our new loyalty programme shortly.

OmanTurtle Encounter on School Trip

Silent we were, as we stood behind this wonderful greenback turtle as she gently covered her eggs in the moonlight on the beach at Ras al Jinz. We were there to witness this amazing spectacle on the Oman coast at the research centre for the Greenback turtles. The energy it took for each sweep of the flipper as she took her last motherly act was impressive.    

 

Once covered, the eggs, and then the baby turtles would be completely on their own to battle against predators and to take that long journey to the sea. The little turtles follow light to lead them to the sea and we watched as the tiny little turtle launched itself off the 8ft sand bank to drop into the sea whilst a large white crab was patrolling – it escaped and now began its life’s journey.

 

We, that is myself, Dan - Manager of the Schools programme, and Charlotte - Assitant Manager were in Oman on an inspection visit before launching this incredible destination.  A visit to this Research Centre is part of our school trip programme to Oman which we have just launched. Find out more about this amazing Middle East country. Register now for information on our inaugural teacher inspection trip at study@discovertheworld.co.uk

 

 Lorraine

Iceland Video - now is the best time to travel!

Here at Discover the World we all LOVE the recent video just posted on Inspired By Iceland!  Take a look below - very reminiscent of Bjork's video - fantastic to see some of that stunning Icelandic scenery and everyone having fun! Spread the word that now is a fantastic time to visit Iceland!

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired by Iceland on Vimeo.

Morocco Adventure in the desert

The quiet of the amazing Erg Chebbi desert in Morocco was calling so off I went to spend a night under the stars in the middle of these huge sands dunes near Merzouga.  Getting there was half the fun too - a camel ride of two hours with a Man in Blue leading the way is every damsels desire I am sure. 

Combining that with the most incredible display of more stars then I have ever seen in my life.  So many I couldn't even work out some of the more famous constellations and the milky way was showing herself in all her glory.   Ideal for all you astronomers and scientists.

All in the call of duty for me as I was out inspecting the bedouin camp on behalf of all the students who can now go on a Discover the World education trip to Morocco.

It can get very chilly in the desert at night so I was very grateful for the thick blankets and the roaring fire.  A steaming tagine was cooked for us and eaten while we were watching our cameleers while they played their berber instruments under the stars. 

I am sure if you are looking for a hot destination to see desertification and water irrigation you will want to take time out for this overnight camping trip.

Lorraine

 

Eyjafjallajokull Volcano - all our school groups home!

Well, what a trip they had!  We are really pleased to report all school groups on our study trips to Iceland during the latest volcanic eruptions are now home in the UK.  Some groups saw more of Iceland than planned with a trip round Iceland going all the way round on Route 1 to get back to Reykjavik. Although one  group did travel through the night!  A big thank you to all our teachers who were in Iceland - welcome  home!

And if you thought the students  were having a good time - yes they did - we organised additional activities like whale watching, and horse riding.   But don't worry, if you thought the students were having too much of a good time some even went to school for their lessons in an Icelandic secondary school. 

If you want to learn how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that caused the ash cloud, we have been practising quite a bit.  So here goes Aaya-fiatla-yurkult!  Easy!

To witness how practised and organised the Icelandic people are when it comes to keeping people safe during a volcanic eruption being there really did bring the text book to life.  To find out more on the volcanos visit our guide to volcanos.

If you would like to take your students to Iceland to really see the Living Planet at work - not in a text book we would be delighted to help.  To see how other schools feel about their educational visit with Discover the World please see our testimonial page.

Once again, welcome back to all our schools.  Lorraine

Iceland - volcano witness account

Dan Stacey, Discover the World’s Schools & Groups Manager, is on location in South Icelandand has just been to witness the volcanic eruption near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier.  

“…I just returned from an absolutely fantastic experience in Iceland; I took the 'Volcano Eruption by Snowmobile' tour.  I've been fortunate enough to travel around this amazing country quite a bit, but seeing a live eruption was something else! It took around an hour to get close to the area by snowmobile, and then we stood in awe around 200 metres from the lava (for about an hour); feeling the heat on our faces and just marvelling at the immense power of the earth as it burst out in all kinds of reds and oranges  and yellow. It was like something out of Lord of the Rings; conjuring up images of Mordor and the lava spilling down through black earth and sizzling against the snow.  It was possibly one of the most awesome experiences of my life - seeing a natural display of fireworks that was simply out of this world. "

 

Some of our school groups were in Iceland and could witness for themselves this eruption.  With safety paramount the Icelandic people were well prepared and had their emergency procedures in place.

 

Lucky Dan.....

 

Lorraine

Volcano watch in Iceland

Geologists will be interested to hear that in the last 48 hours there has been a lot of seismic activity under Eyjafjallajökull in southern Iceland and Icelanders with their ever present awareness of the natual forces that surround them are always prepared for all eventualaties.  At the moment they are keeping a very watchful eye on the Icelandic Weather service to monitor the activity under Eyjafjallajokull. If you would like to find out more, visit the volcanism blog by Dr Ralph Harrington. 

For those of you who want to get out there and see an eruption first hand, register with our volcano hotline and whenever these is an eruption in Iceland we run special trips.  In the past we've managed to get people viewing the activities at close hand within 24-48 hours of the eruption beginning.

If you would like to visit the Eyjafjallajokull area click here and take your students on an awe-inspiring educational visit to one of the most incredible islands in the world, Iceland.

Lorraine

Earthquake “Tweeters” help Scientists

The Twitter Earthquake Detection project was described at the American Geophysical Union's meeting.  The “tweetering” spikes just after an earthquake.

They are hoping that using the social networking phenomenon will help the scientists and the emergency response teams to get information a little quicker.  The spikes of traffic on the site greatly increases after an earthquake and will maybe assist to determine the severity of a quake slightly faster to better enable the emergency teams to make an assessment.  It is speed over accuracy.  For more information please see the BBC page “OMG Did you just feel that quake?”

However, you will be glad to hear that this monitoring of the “twitter” traffic is there to supplement tried and tested scientific reporting.

 

The Icelandic Meterological office publish the earthquake activity in Iceland on a regular basis and you can access this whenever you want to see the latest seismic charts.  Or even better - why not visit Iceland on one of our education trips to see the active earth in motion.

Earthquake moves New Zealand closer to Australia

July saw the largest earthquake in New Zealand for 80 years and has resulted in New Zealand moving nearer to Australia by a foot. The earthquake struck last week in the beautiful Fjordland area of New Zealand's South Island. In geological terms this is almost like land moving at the speed of Concorde. The Geo Net website in New Zealand is a great resource for finding out more about this remarkable occurrence.

I was lucky enough to visit this spectacular part of the world whilst investigating taking school trips to New Zealand because of its incredible geographical and geological features, not forgettting the sheer "awe and wonder" possibilities of the country from rain forests to glaciers. 

Why is it that just sports trips go to New Zealand?  You can change that and take a trip to New Zealand e mail us for more details study@discovertheworld.co.uk.

Lorraine, Schools Development Manager

Earthquake shakes England

People in the north of England were shaken quite literally on Tuesday 28th April when an earthquake 3.7 on the Richter scale struck at 1125 according to the British Geological Society. Listen and watch the BBC Cumbria reports.

We here at Discover the World are more used to earthquakes in Iceland. The last major one was in May 2008 at 6.1 on the Richter scale. Because of very strict building regulations in Iceland even a large earthquake of this scale meant only some poor sheep were fatalities. About 20 buildings were slightly damaged but the insides were shaken and most injuries were caused by things falling out of cupboards and off shelves!

Click here to see how you can monitor minute by minute the Icelandic earthquakes as they appear. Or why not discover more about Iceland yourselves on one of our study visits.