Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano starts new eruption

Iceland's most active volcano, Grimsvotn, has started erupting, scientists say.

The volcano, which lies under the Vatnajokull glacier in south-east Iceland, last erupted in 2004.

In 2010, plumes of ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused weeks of air travel chaos across Europe.

Officials say the latest eruption is unlikely to cause similar problems, although a flight ban has been imposed around the area.

Volcanic eruptions are common in Iceland, which lies along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that divides the Eurasian and North American continental plates.

Icelandic Meteorological Office geologist Hjorleifur Sveinbjornsson told Reuters that Grimsvotn had thrown a plume of white smoke about 15km (nine miles) into the air.

"It can be a big eruption, but it is unlikely to be like last year," he added.

Iceland's Isavia airport authority said a flight ban of 120 nautical miles had been imposed around the area.

Ash monitored


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Glaciologist Matthew Roberts: the eruption "shouldn't have any far-reaching effects"
"We close the area until we know better how the ash is going to work," she spokeswoman Hjordis Gudmundsdottir.

Domestic airline Icelandair said no traffic had been affected.

"We do not expect the Grimsvotn eruption to affect air traffic to and from the country in any way," said communications director Gudjon Arngrimsson.

Last year's outpouring of ash from Eyjafjallajokull led to the largest closure of European airspace since World War II.

About 10 million travellers were affected and some questioned whether the shutdown was an over-reaction.

However, a scientific study published last month said the safety concerns had been well founded.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland said ash particles from the early part of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption were especially abrasive, posing a possible threat to aircraft.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13487858

Iceland has closed its main international airport and cancelled domestic flights after its most active volcano, Grimsvotn, began erupting.

A plume of smoke has risen 20km (12 miles) into the sky from the volcano.

But Iceland's Meteorological Office says the eruption should not cause widespread disruption to air traffic.

Last year, ash clouds from another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokul, led to the closure of a large section of European airspace.

Governments feared that ash particles could cause aircraft engines to fail, and the closure caused chaos to air travellers.

Different ash
Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman for the Isavia civil aviation authority - which has imposed a flight ban of 120 nautical miles (222 km) around Grimsvotn - said: "We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have."

Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, will remain shut for the rest of the day, the authority said.

But officials say the eruption is unlikey to have the same impact as last year's.

Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, said the 2010 eruption was a rare event.

"The ash in Eyjafjallajokull was persistent or unremitting and fine-grained," he said.

"The ash in Grimsvotn is more coarse and not as likely to cause danger as it falls to the ground faster and doesn't stay as long in the air as in the Eyjafjallajokull eruption."

Icelandair pilot Thor Kristinsson told the BBC he had flown near the volcano on Saturday.

"We were able to finish our flight but we did see the ash plume rise fast. We were at 38,000 feet ... and the ash was at least at 40,000 feet at that time.

"It looks at least as bad as the one last year and it looks like it could get worse. It's as big, if not bigger than the last ash cloud."

Threat to engines
Grimsvotn lies under the the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajokull in south-east Iceland.

Reuters news agency says that when it last erupted in 2004, transatlantic flights had to be re-routed south of Iceland, but no airports were closed.

Last year's outpouring of ash from Eyjafjallajokull led to the largest closure of European airspace since World War II.

About 10 million travellers were affected and some questioned whether the shutdown was an over-reaction.

However, a scientific study published last month said the safety concerns had been well founded.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland said ash particles from the early part of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption were especially abrasive, posing a possible threat to aircraft engines.

May 21, 2011 – ICELAND – Iceland’s Meteorological Office confirmed Saturday that an eruption had begun, and local media said smoke could be seen coming from the volcano. Grimsvotn lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland. It last erupted in 2004. Scientists have been expecting a new eruption and have said previously that this volcano’s eruption will likely be small and should not lead to the air travel chaos caused in April 2010 by ash from the Eyjafjallajokul volcano. -USA Today
History: Grímsvötn, Iceland’s most frequently active volcano in historical time lies largely beneath the vast Vatnajökull icecap. The caldera lake is covered by a 200-m-thick ice shelf, and only the southern rim of the 6 x 8 km caldera is exposed. The geothermal area in the caldera causes frequent jökulhlaups (glacier outburst floods) when melting raises the water level high enough to lift its ice dam. Long NE-SW-trending fissure systems extend from the central volcano. The most prominent of these is the noted Laki (Skaftar) fissure, which extends to the SW and produced the world’s largest known historical lava flow during an eruption in 1783. The 15-cu-km basaltic Laki lavas were erupted over a 7-month period from a 27-km-long fissure system. Extensive crop damage and livestock losses caused a severe famine that resulted in the loss of one-fifth of the population of Iceland.www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=937
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/653/628/Iceland_Volcano_Explodes-_Massive_Swarm_Of_Large_Earthquakes_Follow.html