Aug 21, 2010 11:10 GMT  ·  By

A team of German researchers who got a chance to analyze ash particles from the cloud emitted by Eyjafjallajokull volcano, in Greenland, say that the structures were larger than they ever expected.

As soon as the glaciovolcano began spewing out vast amounts of ash and magma, researchers in Leipzig set up their scientific equipment, fully aware of the fact that the plume would be sent over Germany in the coming weeks.

“The blue skies were gone. We had very gray skies, and it was all ash,” recalls Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research Department of Physics deputy leader Albert Ansmann.

According to theoretical calculations, particles with a diameter exceeding 10 micrometers are too heavy to remain airborne, which means that, once emitted by the volcano, they should have fallen to the ground immediately.

The theory also held that these large particles would only reach a distance of about 800 kilometers, or 500 miles away from their point of origin.

But the German team found them at a distance of 2,400 kilometers, or roughly 1,500 miles, which is three times the predicted length they could travel through the planet's atmosphere.

Additionally, it was discovered that the ash plume blocked out a vast amount of sunlight, much more so than experts thought possible.

The group estimates that anywhere between 50 and 80 percent of incoming sunlight was scattered by the ash plume, according to a paper they published in the July 15 issue of the esteemed scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The recent study is important because it gives additional credence to existing climate models showing how aerosols move through the atmosphere. These are very small particles, that contribute to global warming to a great extent.

“This is an exciting example for atmospheric modeling to prove that the models work well,” Ansmann explains, quoted by OurAmazingPlanet.

Studying ash plumes may also supply more data for paleoclimatologists, who are experts studying ancient variations in the planet's climate.

For example, it is widely believed in the international scientific community that massive volcanic eruptions were responsible for promoting the onset of ice ages that affected Earth in the distant past.

The ash, also emanating from volcanic eruptions, covered the skies, and caused a drop in temperatures. Plants and animals alike died off, and biodiversity was recovered only after the skies were cleared.