Iceland’s Grimsvotn Volcano Erupts

1 minute read

Iceland’s most active volcano started erupting Saturday — just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days. Iceland’s Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes. Smoke could be seen rising from the volcano, which lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland.

Grimsvotn 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 Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

-Associated Press

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Video courtesy Jon Gustafsson.

The Grimsvotn volcano has forced the closure of Icelandic airspace and spread fears of a repeat of the global travel chaos that was caused by last year's Icelandic eruption. Ash spews from the volcano, May 23, 2011.Jon Magnusson—Getty Images
A dead lamb lies in an ash covered field close to Kirkjubaearklaustrur, May 24 2011.Brynjar Gauti—AP
Volcanic ash is spewed into the sky by the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland, May 23, 2011.Jon Magnusson—Getty Images
The Grimsvotn volcano sends thousands of tons of volcanic ash into the sky above Iceland, May 23, 2011.Jon Magnusson—Getty Images
Volcanic ash consumes the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland, May 23, 2011.Vilheldm Gunnarsson—EPA
Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano erupts May 21, 2011. The eruption at Grimsvotn has so far hit only Iceland, which closed its international airspace.Jon Gustafsson—Reuters
A farmer leads a horse through a cloud of ash from the Grimsvotn volcano, May 22, 2011.Vilhelm Gunnarsson—AFP/Getty Images
A cloud of smoke and ash is seen over Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano, May 21, 2011.AFP/Getty Images
An aerial view shows the eruption of Grimsvotn volcano in the southeast of Iceland, May 21, 2011. Iceland closed its main international airport following the eruption, aviation authorities said.Egill Steinsson—EPA
Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano May 21, 2011. The volcano, which lies under the Vatnajokull glacier about 120 miles east of Iceland's capital, Rejkjavik, began erupting Saturday for the first time since 2004.Jon Gustafsson—AP
Smoke rises from the Grimsvotn volcano, May 21, 2011. Grimsvotn started erupting Saturday, just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days.Halldora Kristin Unnarsdottir—AP
A photographer at the edge of the ash fallout zone in Reykjavik, May 22, 2011.
Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano erupts May 21, 2011. The eruption sent a plume of ash, smoke and steam 12 miles into the air.Jon Gustafsson—AP
Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano, May 21, 2011. The Icelandic Meteorological Office said prevailing winds suggested the ash cloud would blow north and not affect mainland Europe.Jon Gustafsson—AP
Farmers round up a flock of sheep amid a cloud of ash pouring out of the erupting Grimsvotn volcano, May 22, 2011.Vilhelm Gunnarsson—AFP/Getty Images
A plane flies past a plume of ash from the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano, May 21, 2011.Olafur Sigurjonsson—Reuters

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