Iceland Volcano Erupts, May Be Precursor to Larger Eruption from Neighboring Volcano

More than 500 Icelanders were evacuated in the early morning hours of March 21 after a volcanic eruption occurred east of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier - in the southern part of the island. The Iceland Department of Civil Protection cancelled flights to and from the island due to the eruption of the volcano and its proximity to Iceland's main airport. The airport at Keflavik is less than 120 miles from the site of the volcanic eruption. The cancellation stranded about 1,000 passengers.

A video of the volcano erupting in Iceland can be seen here.

According to icelandreview.com, the last time Eyjafjallajokull erupted was in 1821 and it was a slight eruption causing minor flooding. The fear with Eyjafjallajokull erupting was that the extreme heat from eruptions could cause melting of the glacial ice near the volcano. According to Iceland's Coast Guard, this eruption is not underneath the glacier, which would have caused flooding. Coast Guard Spokeswoman Hrafnhildur Stefansdottir, "there is no immediate danger for people and due to how remote the place is there are no buildings at immediate risk either."

The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano may signal a more serious volcanic eruption pending from another volcano - Katla. Geophysicist Pall Einarsson said in an article on icelandreview.com that the two volcanoes have often erupted together and the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull could mean that an eruption from Katla will be forthcoming.

". . .they seem to be connected, because all known eruptions in Eyjafjallajokull were related to Katla eruptions and therefore it seems that they might be a prelude to eruptions in Katla," Einarsson said.

The Katla Volcano last erupted in 1918 and is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Iceland.

In the days preceding this eruption, there were a number of small earthquakes. Iceland is no stranger to volcanic activity and actually sits in a volcanic "hot spot" in the Atlantic ocean's mid-oceanic ridge. These volcanic eruptions are often triggered by seismic activity.

Iceland is made up of a series of volcanoes and a devastating volcanic eruption on the island occurred in June of 1783 when the Laki Volcano erupted. This eruption killed thousands and spread a haze of dust that covered parts of Europe, North America, and may have even extended into Asia and North Africa. The eruption from the Laki Volcano is believed to have changed weather patterns in Europe which resulted in loss of crops, livestock and eventually famine. The weather caused by the Laki Volcano erupting included violent thunderstorms and hailstorms that were blamed for killing livestock and destroying crops.