Volcano in Iceland Erupts — Fears of Bigger Eruption to Come (Updated)

As if echoing the recent domestic volatility in Iceland with the financial crisis and the referendum over Icesave, a volcano erupted in southern Iceland (about 75 miles east of Reykjavik) at around midnight, shooting lava over a hundred meters in the air. Several hundred residents in the area were evacuated in the early morning hours (most are now free to return, though) with tourists being turned back. Flights to and from Iceland have also been cancelled or delayed. No injuries or deaths have been reported.

You can watch a video of the eruption here:

The eruption is taking place at what is a popular summer passage for hikers, spectacularly located between two ice caps. I hiked through the same spot back in 2004 — stopping to boil up some noodles and enjoy the view. I did not know then that the two glaciers sat atop active volcanoes: Eyjafjallajökull (where the eruption is occurring) and Katla.

Scientists are monitoring the eruption — the last one at Eyjafjallajökull occurred in 1821 — which so far has avoided the ice. But if the fissure extends to underneath the glacier, this could lead to major glacial flooding like in 1996, when water equivalent to 1.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools from the Vatnajökull ice cap — the country’s largest — flooded the south coast along with one million tons of ice.

The fissure is presently less than one mile in length. This is small in comparison to the 20-mile fissure that opened up at Laki, southern Iceland, in 1783-85, in which a lava flow covered hundreds of square miles and where 70 million tons of sulphuric acid spewed out of the fissure, as well as dust that caused famine and saw 10 percent of the population die.

There are worries, however, that this most recent eruption may in a chain-reaction set off another, more serious, eruption at Katla underneath the neighboring ice cap. Having last erupted in 1918, Katla is considered one of Iceland’s most dangerous volcanoes.

According to a geophysicist’s interview to the Iceland Review Online, “If it goes off it is like Katla can’t resist it and also wants to join in. Those eruptions can be big and cause extensive damage.”

Time to worry? Look out the window for falling ash…

Second Explosion — April 14

There was a second, larger explosion from the  Eyjafjallajökull volcano on April 14, with up to 4,000 flights across Northern Europe being canceled due to a volcanic ash cloud moving south, which can clog up jet engines and stop them functioning properly. Airspace has been closed in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark,  Ireland, Belgium, and even in the UK until at least tomorrow morning, reports the BBC. This eruption has caused major flooding around the glacier  and dust masks have been recommended to Icelanders living in areas affected by the fallout.

You can watch a video of the new eruption here

Photo of lava by desmoheart78

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