Acrid smell in Melbourne?

pgc hunter · #1 13-06-2011, 12:59 AM

Was just outside naked eyeing the clear sky when I noticed a distinct pungent odour of smoke in the air. I know that flights in and out of Melbourne have been cancelled because of ash-related hazard from the Chilean volcano, but all recent reports place the ash cloud over southern NZ and south of Tassie. But this smell is acrid, it irritates the throat, even causing me to cough, unlike the odour from woodheaters and fireplaces - I know because here there is that familiar aroma from those most cold winter evenings and they don't irritate the airways like this odour that is present here at the moment. Anyone else getting this?

Some aircraft are apparently flying to and from Melb but at a reduced altitude. An Emirates flight earlier this evening flew all the way from Auckland at only around 15,000ft. That same aircraft just took off from Tullamarine and has apparently leveled off at 19,000ft, according to flightradar24. Something definately going on here....

Octane (Humayun) · #2 13-06-2011, 01:55 AM

It's just the smell of nuclear winter.

H

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #3 13-06-2011, 02:01 AM

I went outside to have a smell of the air quality (no air pollution up here).

There is a very slight funny smell and I now have a strange taste in my mouth, and as a CFA member I am used to the smell of woodburning heaters and other wood burning and this is slightly different.

So it must be blowing up this way too, all be it a tiny fraction of it.

The BOM map doesn't show any near here or Melbourne

http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/cord...le_image.shtml

It is just its usual cloud and drizzle here at the moment, but there is a definite faint odd smell.

pgc hunter · #4 13-06-2011, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

I went outside to have a smell of the air quality (no air pollution up here).

There is a very slight funny smell and I now have a strange taste in my mouth, and as a CFA member I am used to the smell of woodburning heaters and other wood burning and this is slightly different.

So it must be blowing up this way too, all be it a tiny fraction of it.

The BOM map doesn't show any near here or Melbourne

http://www.bom.gov.au/info/vaac/cord...le_image.shtml

It is just its usual cloud and drizzle here at the moment, but there is a definite faint odd smell.

It's fairly pungent here, about 40km SE of Melbourne's CBD. Enough to irritate the throat. Skies are fully clear here btw!

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #5 13-06-2011, 02:31 AM

Our cloud (and volcanic ash?) is coming in from the EastSouthEast so we will get whatever you have

At the moment it is 98% cloud with drizzle.
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/satell...wzstate&lc=vic

tlgerdes (Trevor) · #6 13-06-2011, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Octane

It's just the smell of nuclear winter.

H

I thought Melbourne always smelled like that

Liz · #7 13-06-2011, 08:37 AM

Too cloudy for stunning volcanic ash sunsets??

ZeroID (Brent) · #8 13-06-2011, 08:49 AM

Hmmm, I wandered outside last night because I could smell something acrid in the air. And that was with clouds above. I wonder if the rain is picking up a bit of the S02 and bringing it to earth, acid rain maybe.
Supposedly Auckland wasn't going to see anything till this morning but when have the vagaries of weather ever listened to a foreacaster ?

I've grabbed the big camera for my drive home tonight because I go past a wee bay that looks due west and it has been giving some nice sunsets lately even without help from the Chileans. If I can get a low sun shot at the horizon it might be interesting.

renormalised (Carl) · #9 13-06-2011, 10:21 AM

Sulphur Dioxide, guys. That's what you're smelling...that and whatever else is mixed up in the gases from the eruption. Must be pumping out a fair bit of the gas.

mikerr (Michael) · #10 13-06-2011, 10:23 AM

I heard that there was a Baked Bean eating contest in Melbourne yesterday.

Michael

DavidU (Dave) · #11 13-06-2011, 11:19 AM

I noticed an odd smell at about 8.30 last night.It seemed to come in with a band of very low cloud almost like fog.

multiweb (Marc) · #12 13-06-2011, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikerr

I heard that there was a Baked Bean eating contest in Melbourne yesterday.

Michael

That sounds more plausible. Can't smell anything here in Sydney so I'd rule out the Chilean volcano.

torana68 (Roger) · #13 13-06-2011, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

Was just outside naked, ....

I wouldnt do that in Melbourne if I were you

supernova1965 (Warren) · #14 13-06-2011, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

Was just outside naked

That is really too much information

pgc hunter · #15 13-06-2011, 12:35 PM

hahaha lol that sentence really came out wrong! What I was implying is that I was looking at the sky with my naked eyes, not actually being naked

renormalised (Carl) · #16 13-06-2011, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

hahaha lol that sentence really came out wrong! What I was implying is that I was looking at the sky with my naked eyes, not actually being naked

Yeah, likely story

DavidU (Dave) · #17 13-06-2011, 12:53 PM

Here is an ash plume map.
http://resources0.news.com.au/images...no-graphic.jpg

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #18 13-06-2011, 03:28 PM

With two goats, 5 sheep and a handful of cows within 20 feet of the house, pungent, acrid and foul smelling humours are pretty much the norm 'round our place.

It'd take one helluva volcano to cut through this lot!

AstralTraveller (David) · #19 13-06-2011, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

Was just outside naked

Ah ha, that explains the smell.

AstralTraveller (David) · #20 13-06-2011, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikerr

I heard that there was a Baked Bean eating contest in Melbourne yesterday.

Michael

Nah. That's a rotten egg gas (H2S) smell. Volcanoes are SO2. You're getting your foul smells confused.