Volcanic Eruption Ongoing in Iceland

Thousand of flights have been delayed across Europe over air quality concerns as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano has erupted for a second time this month. Eyjafjallajökull is a small glacier located in Iceland. It is north of Skógar and to the west of the larger glacier Mýrdalsjökull.

The icecap of the glacier covers a volcano which has erupted several times since the Ice Age. The volcano erupted twice in 2010, on March 20^th, and again today, April 15th. Today's eruption is causing disruption to air traffic across Northern Europe and scientists claimed it was ten to twenty times more powerful than the March eruption. According to the University of Iceland, the volcano was previously active from 1821-1823.

NASA issued a statement on Iceland's volcano, which is visible on satellite imagery.

Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano burst into life for the first time in 190 years on March 20, 2010. A 500-meter- (2,000-foot) long fissure opened in the Fimmvörduháls pass to the west of the ice-covered summit of Eyjafjallajökull. Lava fountains erupted fluid magma, which quickly built several hills of bubble-filled lava rocks (scoria) along the vent. A lava flow spread northeast, spilling into Hrunagil Gully.

This natural-color satellite image shows lava fountains, lava flows, a volcanic plume, and steam from vaporized snow. The image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The lava fountains are orange-red, barely visible at the 10-meter (33-foot) resolution of the satellite. The scoria cones surrounding the fissure are black, as is the lava flow extending to the northeast. White volcanic gases escape from the vent and erupting lava, while a steam plume rises where the hot lava meets snow. (The bright green color along the edge of the lava flow is an artifact of the sensor.)

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was presaged by a series of earthquakes starting in early March. Over time, the earthquakes rose towards the surface, and land near the volcano rose at least 40 millimeters (2 inches)-both indications that magma was moving underneath the volcano. The eruption continued through at least March 26th, and may continue for several more months.

Previous eruptions in the area have caused flooding due to the melting of glacial ice (a Jökulhlaup), but the current eruption is in an area covered by winter snow, not permanent ice. Although some past eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were followed by larger, explosive eruptions at nearby Katla Volcano, there is currently no sign of activity at Katla.

According to the BBC News, air flights have been halted across all of northern Europe. They went on to state that the air quality is an extreme hazard, and further airport closures are imminent.

BBC's Report of Affected Countries:

Airspace closed:

United Kingdom

Republic of Ireland

Norway

Partial Closures and Imminent Closures:

Sweden (total closure by 2000 GMT)

Denmark (total by 1600 GMT)

Finland (northern airspace closed till 1200 GMT Friday)

Belgium (total from 1430 GMT)

Netherlands (being shut progressively)

Oslo airport, which is Norway's largest, was closed on Thursday morning, meaning Norwegian airspace was completely closed.

Belgium, Sweden and Denmark announced they would be shutting their entire airspace, northern Finland was closed and the Netherlands was being closed progressively.

There was severe disruption in France and Spain, where all northbound flights were cancelled.

Many factors affect the spread of ash and particulates from the volcano, including weather, wind, and further volcanic activity.

For more information about Iceland' volcanic eruption and current events, see:

The Volcanism Blog http://volcanism.wordpress.com/category/volcanoes/eyjafjoll-volcanoes

Eyjafjallajökull frá Hvolsvelli Webcam http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli

Sources:

University of Iceland http://www.jardvis.hi.is/page/jheyjafjallajokull

^"Iceland's volcanic ash halts flights in northern Europe". BBC News. 15 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8621581.stm. Retrieved 15 April 2010.

Eruptions. (2010, March 4). Increasing signs of activity at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Accessed March 26, 2010.

Eruptions. (2010, March 24). Iceland Eruption Update for 3/24/2010. Accessed March 26, 2010.

Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.). Eyjafjöll. Accessed March 26, 2010.

Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.). Katla. Accessed March 26, 2010.

Icelandic Met Office. (2010, March). An eruption in South Iceland. Accessed March 26, 2010.

Icelandic Met Office. (2010, March). Photos from Fimmvörðuháls. Accessed March 26, 2010.