Iceland volcano 2011: Incredible pictures of volcanic ash released as dozens of flights are axed | Daily Mail Online President Obama cuts short Ireland stay to avoid effects of ash cloud Aviation sector says it is better prepared than last year British officials warns of further disruption in the week ahead Click here to see live video of volcano eruption viewed from space These amazing images show why tens of thousands of families are facing air travel chaos as a thick cloud of volcanic ash descends over Britain. The towering plume of Icelandic ash, smoke and steam hit Scotland and Ireland last night, bringing disruption to airlines. U.S. President Barack Obama flew from Ireland to London last night - a day early - to ensure the cloud does not delay his state visit. Electrical storm: Ash is hurled miles into the air by the eruption, creating thunderstorms around the volcano Ash from the Grimsvotn volcano hanging in the sky over Iceland. The cloud has spewed 12 miles into the atmosphere Stunning: As the volcano erupts, huge dark ash and storm clouds gather across the Icelandic skyline The Irish visit was the first stop on a six-day European tour - and he left as British Airways cancelled all flights between London and Scotland until 2pm today.

Between 30 and 40 BA flights will be affected from airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and London City to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The airline runs 80 flights a day between these airports. Royal Dutch Airlines KLM cancelled the 16 flights scheduled for this morning to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle. The airlines said customers on any cancelled flights will be able to claim a full refund or rebook on to alternative flights – and that all other flights will operate as scheduled. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share At least 36 flights were cancelled in Scotland last night and today, as airports across Britain were put on stand-by for imminent disruption. By noon today, the Met Office forecasts that the cloud will have swept south, covering most of England and Wales with low concentrations of ash. Medium concentrations of ash – the level where aircraft need permission to fly from the CAA – may affect Newcastle airport. The warnings come a year after debris from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano spread across Europe, creating the biggest no-fly zone since the Second World War. But the Civil Aviation Authority has stressed that, unlike last year’s six-day ban, a complete shut-down of British airspace will not happen this time.

Looking up to the darkened sky because of the ash cloud, Sunna Agustdottir, seven, carries a new-born lamb to shelter at the family farm in Longumyri, Iceland Wearing a face mask, Anna Hardadottir, a farmer of Horgsland, leads a horse through the ash pouring out of the erupting volcano. It has spewed an ash cloud about 15 miles into the sky A footprint outside a petrol station giving an indication of how deep the ash is and, right, a dead bird lies on Higway One near the town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur in the south-east of the country Farmers hurry to get their sheep into shelter. The thick cloud of ash blocked out daylight at towns and villages at the foot of the glacier where the volcano lies and covered cars and buildings This is because tests following the experience of last April have shown that many flights can still take place when the ash is in ‘low’ or ‘medium’ density. There will be a blanket ban on all flights only when the cloud is at its highest concentration of ash.

Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, said: ‘Our number one priority is to ensure the safety of people both onboard aircraft and on the ground. THE NEW RULES ON AIRSPACE CLOSURES DUE TO ASH New procedures will govern the closure of UK airspace this time. A CAA spokesman explained that interested parties had agreed on a system whereby ash levels are graded as low, medium or high. 'Airspace will not be closed and we will notify airlines when the Met Office predicts there are medium or high levels of ash present,' the spokesman said. 'If an airline has done a risk assessment as to how it will fly safely in medium or high ash levels and as liaised with aircraft manufacturers and engine makers, then they will be able to fly if the CAA considers it acceptable.' ‘The new arrangements that have been put in place since last year’s ash cloud mean the aviation sector is better prepared and will help to reduce any disruption in the event that volcanic ash affects UK airspace.’ Some 500,000 passengers on 9,000 flights come in and out of UK airspace every day.

The latest crisis was sparked by the eruption of Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano, which has been spewing out a 13-mile high tower of ash since Saturday. The Met Office said the ash reached the northern coast of Britain around 6pm yesterday. The whole of Scotland was forecast to be covered by a ‘high concentration’ of ash by 6am today, while lower concentrations will cover Ireland, parts of mid and north Wales and Northumbria. Airports in Newcastle, Glasgow, Belfast and Edinburgh could all be hit. Loganair has cancelled all its flights due to depart between 6am and 1pm today. Its services are mostly within Scotland, but some cancelled flights are to Birmingham and Belfast. As well as President Obama’s early flight, the Barcelona football squad will also travel to London earlier than scheduled for Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: ‘There have already been some modest delays to flights, particularly those crossing the Atlantic ...

and there could be further disruption later in the week, but we are doing everything we can to keep this to a minimum.’ The ash billows into the sky from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in south east Iceland The huge puffs of ash from the active volcano could ruin many people's plans to jet off as it starts to drift into Europe Chaos in the sky: Aerial view of the eruption of the volcano Grimsvotn in the south-east of Iceland which has forced shut its main international airport Covered from head to toe with ski goggles and face mask this farmer's son - preparing to herd his sheep to shelter - looks like he is on the set of a science fiction film set A British Airways jumbo jet was grounded in Canada on Sunday following fears the engines had been contaminated with volcanic ash during a transatlantic crossing. But BA said the move had been ‘precautionary’ and that no evidence of volcanic ash had been found. In April last year, UK airspace was shut for six days when volcanic ash hit the British Isles. Under the old ‘zero tolerance to ash’ rules planes were grounded for fear that particles from the volcano could clog up engines.

The ban – which cost up to £2billion and led to disruption for ten million passengers – was only overturned after pressure from airline chiefs who insisted their planes could fly safely through low concentrations of volcanic ash. Under new rules ash concentrations will be measured and graded. Most planes will be able to fly in ‘low’ and ‘medium’ densities of ash, but barred if ash levels are high. It could be worse than the last time By MICHAEL HANLON One could be forgiven for thinking that someone up there, or rather down there, doesn’t like aeroplanes flying overhead. Just 13 months after the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull spewed forth a vast cloud of ash and grounded 100,000 flights over the North Atlantic, another of the country’s huge volcanoes, Grimsvotn, is threatening to do the same. Nordic myth has it that Iceland is home to races of elves and subterranean trolls, guardians of the hot springs, geysers and volcanoes which have created its extraordinary landscape. Big volcanic eruptions – which have caused terrible famines in the past – were traditionally taken as a sign that the gods were unhappy.

Centuries ago, the eruption of Grimsvotn – which lies in the south of the island – would be a sign that the trolls were very displeased (indeed, in 1743 an eruption of the same volcano killed a quarter of the Icelandic population). Today, this spectacular eruption is creating a massive headache for the aviation authorities, airlines and travellers. This latest shot shows the ash cloud (the reddish colour) swirling into the atmosphere after spewing from the Grimsvotn volcano Stretching 13 miles into the stratosphere, as this ash cloud casts a rather familiar pall across the British Isles and north-west Europe, the fear is that the coming bank holiday weekend, one of the busiest travel periods of the year, will be severely disrupted. The nightmare scenario is that Britain faces the prospect, yet again, of aircraft being grounded for days – or even weeks. This is a far larger eruption than that of last year, and the biggest eruption in Iceland for 50 years. Last year, ten million passengers saw their flights cancelled or delayed as a no-fly zone operated across much of Europe for a week. Potentially, this year’s eruption could be even worse.

Grimsvotn, Iceland’s most active volcano (a measure of the frequency of its activity, although not necessarily the severity of its eruptions – on average the mountain erupts every five years), started spewing ash on Saturday. It is a ‘sub-glacial volcano’, lying under a 600ft-thick pancake of ice, or the Vatnajokull glacier, which the recent eruption has simply burnt straight through. The trouble with Iceland is that it sits bang on the join between two of the Earth’s tectonic plates – the North American plate and the Eurasian Plate. Currents deep in the Earth are pulling these plates apart. Molten rock – or lava – rises up to fill the resulting cracks and fissures, resulting in Iceland’s spectacular volcanic landscape. An infra-red image showing the plume of smoke spreading out from south-east Iceland. The pinkish-red part shows the fallout from the eruption, the brown is normal cloud cover. Britain is braced in case it begins to drift east.

Last year’s disruptive eruption and this one are not related; Eyjafjallajökull and Grimsvotn are less than 100 miles apart, but they lie on different faultlines and are fed by separate chambers of molten rock underground. It is, say geologists, pure coincidence and bad luck that led to such similar incidents so close to one another. Indeed, a large eruption of Grimsvotn in 2004 passed without incident, as the prevailing winds carried the ash far away from the busy air corridors crossing the Atlantic. In the case of the current eruption, the initial signs are not good. According to Dr Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at the Open University, Grimsvotn is erupting ‘ten to 100 times more material into the air per second than Eyjafjallajökull’. Dr McGarvie explains that while last year’s eruption was, after an initial period when ice and lava mixed, largely ‘dry’, the Grimsvotn lava is involved with ‘intense and explosive interactions with water’. How are we going to get home?

Tourists leave the Islandia Hotel yesterday in Nupur as ash continue to pour out of the erupting volcano Sample: Ash is collected awaiting examination at the command centre in Kirkjubaejarklaustur as authorities prepare to deal with the effects of the eruption Basically, molten basalt rock at a temperature of 1000c or more is meeting glacial ice and cold water. The result is an explosion of steam that is driving fine ash particles – fragments of solidified lava – high into the air. It is these abrasive ash particles that pose a danger to aircraft, with the potential to wreck the delicate, rapidly whirling innards of their engines. This is not simply a theoretical risk; in June 1982, a British Airways Boeing 747 lost all power while flying through a plume of ash generated by an Indonesian volcano. It was only through great skill and some luck that the crew managed to restart the engines and land the plane safely. So what are the prospects of a repeat of last year’s disruption? Although the initial signs are alarming, there are subtle differences between the two eruptions that mean the airlines (and passengers) may just get away with it.

The Eyjafjallajökull eruption produced a very fine, glassy ash which stayed in the atmosphere for days. Grimsvotn’s basaltic lava is heavier, clumpier and forms larger ash particles which should fall from the sky much more quickly. And the eruption already seems to be literally running out of steam – the plume is only half the height it reached at the weekend. Last year, some airlines criticised aviation authorities for being overcautious. But research by engineers at Copenhagen and Reykjavik Universities shows that the risk to plane engines was higher than many assumed and that the ban was almost certainly the right thing to do in the circumstances. Since then, however, there has been a careful reassessment of the rules governing aviation and volcanic ash. Aircraft are now allowed to operate in ash concentrations of up to 4mg per cubic metre provided a thorough inspection takes place after landing. ‘Engines are quite tolerant of this stuff,’ says Dr Colin Brown, of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, adding that ash concentrations which nearly destroyed BA009 over Indonesia in 1982 approached 2000mg per cubic metre.

Huge eruption: Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano create a stunning scene about 120 miles east of Rejkjavik Awesome power: Keflavik airport has been closed to air passengers as of 8.30am this morning following the eruption caption] What happens now depends on three things. How long the volcano continues to erupt (this could be days or just hours); how the airlines decide to interpret the ash guidelines issued by the Civil Aviation Authority – which is unknown – and, lastly, the weather. With a fair wind and a bit of geological luck, holidaymakers might manage to get away as planned this weekend. But if, like the millions of Britons who enjoyed the blissfully silent skies of April last year, Iceland’s trolls and elves decide they too appreciate the silence of plane-free skies, we could be looking at yet another week of travel nightmare for millions.

Holidaymakers warned of risk of 'significant disruption' if Icelandic volcano erupts - Telegraph Aviation Holidaymakers warned of risk of 'significant disruption' if Icelandic volcano erupts Iceland has issued an orange alert to airlines after strongest earthquakes in two decades at the Bardarbunga volcano, raising fears of an ash cloud that could affect aviation By Gordon Rayner , Chief Reporter 3:24PM BST 19 Aug 2014 Follow British holidaymakers have been warned there is a risk of “significant disruption” to air travel if an Icelandic volcano erupts later this week. Iceland has issued its most severe volcanic eruption warning for two years because of earthquakes at the Bardarbunga volcano, which lies under a glacier in the centre of the country. Four years ago the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland caused an ash cloud that grounded 107,000 flights over an eight-day period and affected 10 million passengers. The UK Civil Aviation Authority insisted today that huge advances in forecasting ash clouds, testing their density and determining safe ash levels for flying mean far fewer flights would have to be cancelled if Bardarbunga blows.

But an independent air safety consultant warned that there would still be major problems for air travellers if the circumstances of the 2010 eruption were repeated. Related Articles Recap: how the 2010 ash cloud caused chaos 13 Oct 2011 Iceland’s Met Office has issued an orange alert – the second-highest on its Aviation Colour Code ash cloud warning system – meaning there is an “increased likelihood of eruption” after recording the strongest earthquake in the region since 1996. It is the first time since the warning system was adopted two years ago that such a severe warning has been issued, and is just one level below the “red alert” for an imminent eruption. The Icelandic Met Office said: “Presently there are no signs of eruption, but it cannot be excluded that the current activity will result in an explosive subglacial eruption, leading to an outburst flood and ash emission." Its seismologist Martin Hensch said the risk of disruption from an ash cloud would depend on how high any ash would be thrown, how much there would be and how fine-grained it would be, which was impossible to predict in advance.

In 2010 the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland caused an ash cloud that grounded 107,000 flights and affected 10 million passengers. The UK air traffic control service NATS said strong northerly winds currently dominating UK weather would mean ash would arrive in UK airspace within 12-18 hours of an eruption. It said that if the volcano erupts a 200-mile exclusion zone will be imposed by the Icelandic authorities, and the UK Met Office's Volcanic Ash Coordination Cell would produce a forecast every six hours detailing the position and density of the cloud. The UK Met Office and the CAA said they were closely monitoring developments and were in daily contact with their colleagues in Iceland. Jo Gillespie, an independent aviation safety consultant, said: “The aviation industry is much better prepared than it was in 2010, but my suspicion is that if we have a similar density of ash cloud to 2010 with similar weather conditions, there would be a significant degree of disruption. “There would be a delay between the eruption and the gathering of enough data to decide where it was safe to fly.

“Having said that, the chances of a repeat of the exact conditions we saw in 2010 are very small, so I would be planning my holiday as normal if I was about to travel.” The 2010 eruption caught out the aviation industry because next to no research had been done on what constituted a safe amount of ash for jet engines to ingest. In the past, eruptions had usually occurred in remote areas where ash clouds could easily be avoided, but as the Eyjafjallajokull ash cloud settled over western Europe, and with the official safe level for ash set at zero for jet engines, more flights were cancelled than at any time since the Second World War. The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 was spectacular but cost the aviation industry more than £1 billion Since then airlines have worked with engine manufacturers to determine what constitutes a safe amount of ash to fly through, and the CAA has approved safety plans prepared by most airlines which would allow them to fly in low and medium density ash clouds.

Iceland, meanwhile, has installed new radar and satellite monitoring systems to measure the exact density of ash being thrown out by volcanoes, and the Met Office has developed a more accurate system for predicting where ash will go. It also has a propeller-driven aircraft that can be sent to fly through ash clouds and measure the density of ash at a moment’s notice. A spokesman for the CAA said: “If you got the same level of ash as in 2010 there would probably be very little impact on the UK at all. If the ash was thicker than in 2010 there would still be an impact, as airlines won’t fly through high density ash.” Because the Bardabunga volcano is under the Vatnajokull glacier, Iceland has closed nearby roads because of a risk of flooding from glacial meltwater. In 2011 the Grimsvotn volcano eruption in Iceland grounded just 900 flights, partly because of advances made in determining safety margins in the wake of the previous year’s incident. A spokesman for the Met Office said: “We are in close contact with the Icelandic Met Office.

There has been no eruption yet so we can’t really speculate on what might happen.” British Airways would only say it was “monitoring” the situation and “would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so”. Share this: Iceland volcano - May 2011 On 21 May, little over a year after the previous eruption, a second volcano in Iceland erupted. As the Grímsvötn volcano in Iceland erupted, weather conditions meant that the volcanic ash plume started to head towards the UK. The Met Office had a key role in accurately predicting the spread of the ash and advising the relevant authorities. In our role as a Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), we're responsible for monitoring and reporting the spread of volcanic ash over the UK, Iceland and the north-eastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean. From 21 May onwards the Met Office London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) continued to provide forecast guidance up to 24 hours ahead to support decision-making. This guidance was provided to the Civil Aviation Authority as the lead agency, NATS, airports and airline operators in order to support their decisions on whether aircraft can fly safely.

Volcanic ash can have a major impact on aircraft, potentially causing engines to fail. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) along with the CAA and aircraft manufacturers set safety thresholds for flying planes through volcanic ash. Our forecasts of ash plume trajectories are based on these thresholds. What we did During the Eyjafjjallajökull the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) working with aircraft engine manufacturers and European transport ministers defined volcanic ash concentration safety thresholds levels for European and North Atlantic airspace. These thresholds supplemented the global ICAO standard of 'avoid all ash'. Responding to this new requirement the Met Office NAME model was used to produce supplementary volcanic ash concentration charts depicting concentration contours of 200 and 2000, and then latterly 4000 micrograms per cubic metre. Satellite imagery, scientific balloons and ground-based radar systems, including LIDAR, were also used to observe the ash cloud and verify our forecasts. Met Office staff worked closely with the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Icelandic Met Office (IMO) who were monitoring the volcano activity. Our guidance showed areas where ash concentrations were expected to be. We regularly updated the public via Twitter and Facebook and our website.

The result Our charts were largely used by respective European airspace authorities as the basis for informing their flight safety related decisions. Timeline of the event Volcano timeline 21 May Volcano erupts. Ash reported to be ejected to a height of almost 20 km. Met Office VAAC forecasts start to be issued. 22 May Volcano continues to erupt. Met Office VAAC forecasts go live on the public area of our website. Flights in parts of Europe start to be affected. 23 May Met Office forecasts that ash is likely to reach parts of northern and western Scotland overnight and 24 May. The research ship Discovery entered an area of thick volcanic ash between Scotland and Iceland with ash being deposited onboard. 24 May Satellite and Lidar observations confirmed the presence of ash over northern Britain in the previous 24 hours. A plane flying from Aberdeen to the Shetlands encountered volcanic ash during the flight with ash being deposited on the aircraft. Ash deposits were found on a plane that had be flying in the Orkney area on morning of 24 May. A plane flying from Stansted to Belfast observed a layer of ash to the north /northwest of the flight path.

A plane flying at a height of 18,000 feet in the Manchester area around 2pm observed a layer of ash of approximately 1000-2000 feet thick. Professional observers reported ash being deposited in northern Britain. Ash was deposited on vehicles on Orkney. Air quality sensors across Scotland indicated an increased amount of ash particles (PM10s) during the day. 25 May Information received from the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) indicated the GrÍmsvötn volcano was no longer emitting ash, and only minor steam plumes from the crater up to around 300 metres 29 May Another Icelandic eruption: Grimsvotn volcano - Photos - The Big Picture - Boston.com Another Icelandic eruption: Grimsvotn volcano Barely a year after a similar eruption in Iceland forced the biggest closure of European airspace since World War II, the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland on May 21, 2011 has caused hundreds of travel delays. The ash cloud forced U.S.

President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland and has raised some fears of a repeat of last year's huge travel disruptions across Europe when emissions from Eyjafjalljokull stranded millions of passengers. Although this disruption is said to be stronger than that of Eyiafjalljokull, it is not expected to have the same impact. Take a look back at two Big Picture posts from the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption: Iceland's disruptive volcano and More from Eyiafjallajokull . -- Paula Nelson ( 24 photos total ) A plane flies past a smoke plume resulting from the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, May 21, 2011. Airlines began canceling flights to Britain because of the ash cloud from the volcano reaching its airspace, although experts expected no repeat of travel chaos from the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull a year ago.

(Olafur Sigurjonsson/Reuters) 2 An image released by the Nasa Earth Observatory, May 24, 2011, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite at 13:00 UTC, May 22, 2011 shows the ash column billowing from the Grimsvoetn volcano. European air traffic controllers said that 252 flights had been cancelled as a volcanic ash cloud covered Scotland and Northern Ireland. (HO/AFP/Getty Images) # 3 U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama board Air Force One at the airport in Dublin, May 23, 2011 en route to London. Obama was forced to leave Ireland a day ahead of schedule to fly to London as a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano drifted towards Britain. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images) # 4 A cloud of smoke and ash is seen over the Grimsvoetn volcano in Iceland, May 21, 2011.

The cloud rising up from Grimsvoetn as a result of the eruption was seen for the first time around 1900 GMT and in less than an hour it had reached an altitude of 11 kilometres (6.8 miles), according to the Icelandic Meteorological Institute. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) # 5 The road near the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, May 24, 2011. People living next to the glacier where the Grimsvotn volcano burst into life were most affected, with ash shutting out the daylight and smothering buildings and vehicles. The outburst is the volcano's most powerful since 1873 and stronger than the Eyjafjallajokull volcano which caused trouble last year. Scientists say this type of ash less easily dispersed but winds have so far been more favorable. (Ingolfur Juliusson/Reuters) # 6 Smoke plumes rise from the Grimsvotn volcano, which lies under the Vatnajokull glacier, about 120 miles, (200 kilometers) east of the capital, Rejkjavik.

The volcano began erupting May 21, 2011 for the first time since 2004. Iceland closed its main international airport and canceled domestic flights as the powerful volcanic eruption sent a plume of ash, smoke and steam 12 miles (20 kilometers) into the air. (Jon Gustafsson/Associated Press) # 7 Anna Hardadottir, a farmer from Horgsland, leads a horse, through the ash pouring out of the erupting Grimsvoetn volcano, May 22, 2011. Ash deposits were sprinkled over the capital Reykjavik, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) to the west of the volcano, which has spewed an ash cloud about 20 kilometres into the sky. Less than 24 hours after the eruption began late May 21, experts and authorities in Iceland said the volcanic activity had begun to decline.

(Vilhelm Gunnarsson/AFP/Getty Images) # 9 A dead lamb lies covered in ash near Kirkjubaearklaustur 260 km (162 miles) from ReykjavÃk, Iceland, May 24 2011. Experts say that particles in the ash could stall jet engines and sandblast planes' windows. The ash cloud forced US President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland and has raised fears of a repeat of huge travel disruptions in Europe last year when emissions from another of Iceland's volcanos, Eyjafjalljokull, stranded millions of passengers.(Brynjar Gauti/Associated Press) # 10 A man clears the windshield of his car during daylight hours in Kirkjbaejarklaustur, near the Grimsvoetn volcano, May 23, 2011. Activity at Iceland's erupting volcano has slowed significantly and its flight-halting ash plume has dropped to a quarter of its peak. (Vilheldm Gunnarsson/AFP/Getty Images) # 12 A member of a rescue team checks on a farmer near Kirkjubaearklaustur, approx.

260 km from Reykjavik, Iceland, May 23, 2011. A dense cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano was being blown toward Scotland forcing two airlines to cancel their flights. (Brynjar Gauti/Associated Press ) # 13 Ash covers the surface of the ground outside a gas station in Kirkjubaejarklaustur, May 22, 2011. Iceland's most active volcano erupted hurling a plume of ash and smoke far into the sky, which aviation officials were closely monitoring after another volcano shut European airspace for days last year. Authorities banned flights close to the Grimsvotn volcano. (Ingolfur Juliusson/Reuters) # 14 Farmer and hotel owner Gisli Kjartanson rests at the bar in his empty hotel, Geirland, near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, May 23, 2011. People living next to the glacier where the Grimsvotn volcano burst into life were most affected, with ash shutting out the daylight and smothering buildings and vehicles.

The outburst is the volcano's most powerful since 1873 and stronger than the Eyjafjallajokull volcano which caused havoc last year. (Ingolfur Juliusson/Reuters) # 15 A passenger looks at the flight information boards at Dublin International airport in Ireland, May 24, 2011. Airlines grounded hundreds of flights after a plume of ash from a volcano in Iceland blanketed Britain and touched Scandinavia in a fresh travel nightmare for thousands of passengers. (Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images) # 16 A departure board shows canceled flights as the airport remains open with limited flights at Edinburgh Airport in Edinburgh, Scotland, May 24, 2011. A dense ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano blew toward Scotland, causing airlines to cancel flights and raising fears of a repeat of last year's huge travel disruptions in Europe that stranded millions of passengers. (Scott Heppell/Associated Press) # 17 A deserted check-in area at Keflavik airport, Keflavik, Iceland, May 22, 2011, as Iceland closed its main international airport and canceled domestic flights.

The eruption was far larger than one a year ago that caused international travel chaos, but scientists said it was unlikely to have the same widespread effect. (Brynjar Gauti/Associated Press) # Iceland Volcano Closes Country’s Four Main Airports - The New York Times The New York Times Europe |Iceland Volcano Closes Airports Search Photo A cloud of smoke and ash over the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland. Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images PARIS — Iceland ’s four international airports were closed to most flights on Sunday as the island nation’s most active volcano erupted for a second day, sending billows of ash 12 miles into the atmosphere, aviation and meteorological officials said. The prevailing winds were expected to blow the ash west all week, meteorologists said. Because of the wind and the weight of the ash particles, which will make them drop faster, officials did not expect a repeat of the widespread disruption of European air traffic in May and April of last year, when an eruption at another Icelandic volcano grounded more than 100,000 flights.

But in a conference call with weather experts and officials responsible for European airspace, airlines were told that if the current weather patterns persisted, ash could reach northern Scotland by midday Tuesday and other parts of Britain as well as western France and northern Spain by Thursday or Friday, said a spokeswoman for Eurocontrol , the agency in Brussels that coordinates European air traffic. The eruptions at the volcano, Grimsvotn , which is beneath the Vatnajokull ice cap in southeast Iceland, are the first there since 2004. On Saturday, Iceland’s civil protection agency imposed a no-fly zone of about 140 miles around the volcano. Reykjavik-Keflavik International Airport shut down on Sunday morning, and the country’s three other international airports were closed to most commercial flights later in the day, said Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman for Isavia , Iceland’s air navigation services provider. The Eyjafjallajokull volcano, one of the island’s largest, erupted in April 2010 and sent numerous bursts of ash into the atmosphere for weeks. The authorities in dozens of European countries moved quickly to ground airplanes in order to prevent damage to jet engines by the ash.

But because it was unclear which ash density levels were safe for jets, the authorities were slow to reopen their airspace — resulting in the worst peacetime air travel disruption in history. A version of this article appears in print on May 23, 2011, on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: Iceland Volcano Closes Airports. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Ash cloud from Icelandic volcano could hit Scotland by midday Tuesday - Telegraph Iceland Ash cloud from Icelandic volcano could hit Scotland by midday Tuesday Ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano could reach northern Scotland by Tuesday and parts of Britain, France and Spain by Thursday or Friday if the eruption continues at the same rate, airlines were warned on Sunday. Follow The warning is based on latest 5-day weather forecasts, but must be treated with caution because of the forecast period and the presence of different air currents from those prevailing at the time of last year's ash crisis, weather officials said. European authorities said on Sunday no disruption was expected to European or transatlantic airspace over the next 24 hours from the eruption of Iceland's most active volcano on Saturday. The warning comes nearly a year after one volcano erupted in Iceland and caused havoc for air passengers.

Grimsvoetn, Iceland’s most active volcano at the heart of its biggest glacier, began erupting late on Saturday, sending a plume of smoke and ash 12miles high. So much ash was blasted into the sky that it blocked out the sun and covered nearby villages and farms. Related Articles Pilot whales risk being stranded 22 May 2011 By yesterday, the ash had reached the capital Reykjavik, nearly 250m to the west, and all the country’s airspace was closing down. In April last year, 34 countries shut their airspace after the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted due to fears that fine ash particles could cause jet engines to stop. It was the largest such closure since the Second World War and millions of passengers were affected. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the global airline industry lost £130million a day during the disruption. Experts and aviation authorities said the impact of the Grimsvoetn eruption should not be as severe and was likely to mainly affect Iceland.

Gunnar Gudmundsson, of Iceland's Meteorological Office, said: “I don’t expect this will have the same effect as Eyjafjoell volcano because the ash is not as fine.” However, they acknowledged that changing weather patterns could sweep the ash into areas where it would affect other countries. Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at Iceland’s Met Office, warned: “If the eruption lasts for a long time we could be seeing similar effects as seen with Eyjafjallajökull last year.” He added that “most of the traffic at least to the south of Iceland will probably not be affected” but said: “We don't know what will happen after that.” The forecast is for winds to clear the ash from Reykjavik and dissipate the problem over the coming days.

Bjorgvin Hardarsson, a farmer in the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, close to the latest eruption, described the ash, saying: “It’s just black outside, and you can hardly tell it is supposed to be bright daylight.” Eurocontrol, the European air safety organisation, said no impact was expected on European airspace outside Iceland or on transatlantic flights for at least 24 hours. Grimsvoetn, which has erupted nine times between 1922 and 2004, is located in an enormous caldera - a collapsed volcanic crater – five miles in diameter near the centre of the Vatnajoekull icefield. When it last erupted in November 2004, volcanic ash fell as far away as mainland Europe and caused minor disruptions in flights to and from Iceland. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: “It’s early days and we’re keeping an eye on the situation but at the moment the weather patterns are looking pretty favourable. “It’s the kind of situation that can change very quickly but we’d be very unlucky to be affected again as the winds normally would take this kind of problem away from us.

“The only problem passengers are likely to have is if you’re going to Iceland.” Flights cancelled as ash cloud heads towards UK - BBC News BBC News Flights cancelled as ash cloud heads towards UK 24 May 2011 Close share panel Media captionTransport Secretary Philip Hammond warns of disruption ahead Flights in and out of Scotland have been cancelled as a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland heads towards the UK. BA, KLM, Easyjet, Flybe, Aer Lingus, Loganair and Eastern Airways have cancelled services on Tuesday, and some flights over the Atlantic were delayed. The threat of further disruption led US President Barack Obama to fly out of the Republic of Ireland a day early to get to London for a state visit. Ash from another Icelandic volcano led to huge disruption in Europe last year. Air Force One Mr Obama had been due to fly to the UK on Tuesday morning, but White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said the decision to bring his arrival forward had been taken "due to a recent change in the trajectory in the plume of volcanic ash". The Met Office forecasts the ash cloud will reach northern and western Scotland overnight, and will clip northern parts of Northern Ireland early on Tuesday. None of England is likely to be affected.

A Met Office spokesman said it was difficult to forecast the cloud's direction beyond that because weather systems were changing so rapidly. A number of airlines are choosing not to fly through Scottish airspace on Tuesday: British Airways is not operating any flights between London and Scotland until 1400 BST KLM cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as some to Newcastle EasyJet cancelled flights to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen scheduled for between 0500 and 0900 BST Flybe cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen and Inverness Aer Lingus cancelled a number of its flights between the Republic of Ireland and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Glasgow-based Loganair has cancelled 36 flights. Only inter-island routes in Orkney are unaffected Eastern Airways will not be operating any services in or out of Scottish airspace Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC Two's Newsnight that "most, if not all, flights into and out of Glasgow and Edinburgh and airports to the north will be stopped" on Tuesday morning. But he said services should resume from Glasgow and Edinburgh by about lunchtime, and in other airports by Wednesday morning. Any disruption later in the week should be "limited", he added.

Earlier, Mr Hammond said there had already been "modest delays" to flights, particularly those crossing the Atlantic. "Clearly, this is a natural phenomenon which we cannot control, but the UK is now much better prepared to deal with an ash eruption than last year." A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said it was anticipating disruption to many services on Tuesday. In a statement on Monday evening, he said: "Only Ryanair is intending to operate a full service from Edinburgh Airport. Passengers should not travel to the airport without checking with their airline first regarding the status of their flight." Andrew Haines, chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, said he hoped to avoid a repeat of last year's travel chaos, but he admitted it was still unclear how badly flights would be affected. "We know so much more about the volcanoes. We have an improved model.

"We have better measuring equipment and we have better relationships with airlines so it should be much better but we're still at the hands of both the weather and the volcano; those are the two uncertainties." Media captionAndrew Haines, of the CAA, said UK aviation had "learned a great deal" Champions League finalists Barcelona are already considering bringing forward their flight to London ahead of Saturday's final at Wembley against Manchester United. The Catalan club had originally planned to travel on Thursday. "Let's see what they [the experts] tell us and if they say we shouldn't risk it we'll travel tomorrow or the day after," said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. During last April's six-day shutdown only a handful of flights took off or landed in the UK. Thousands of Britons found themselves stranded overseas forcing many to make long and expensive journeys home by land. Airlines estimated the shutdown cost them $1.7bn (£1.1bn). The CAA said ash levels would now be graded as low, medium or high, and airlines would be notified if levels reached medium or high. Airlines would then consider whether to fly, according to risk assessments already carried out, the CAA added.

The Foreign Office is advising passengers to remain in regular contact with their travel agent or airline for the latest news on the status of flights and bookings. The Grimsvotn volcano in Vatnajokull National Park began erupting on Saturday with ash rising to 20km (12 miles) but, although still active, is now not as powerful with a plume of 13km (8 miles). More information Vatnajokull National Park Iceland's airspace has been closed for a period as a result. Ash from the volcano, which is 60 miles (97km) from the nearest human settlements, has settled over farmland and livestock, causing difficulties for some farmers and tourists have been evacuated from the country's main national parks. The Grimsvotn volcano lies beneath the ice of the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in south-east Iceland. The latest eruption is its most powerful eruption in 100 years. Experts say this eruption is on a different scale to the one last year and ash particles are larger and, as a result, fall to the ground more quickly.

Airlines cancel flights as ash nears Europe - Travel - News | NBC News Airlines cancel flights as ash nears Europe Plume released from Icelandic volcano forces President Obama to shorten trip to Ireland Below: x Open in new window Transcript of: Iceland volcano ash cuts Obama's trip short BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor (Joplin, Missouri): We promised you some other news tonight. Look what's happening again in Iceland . Remember what we went through last year with the volcano? One more time the plumes of smoke and ash up into the atmosphere. You know where it goes? It drifts over the Atlantic to Europe. It will and already has disrupted air travel . It has, in fact, forced President Obama to change his travel plans. He's leaving Ireland early. He spent the day there today, part of this long planned multi-day European trip.

He got a huge welcome, crowd easily 30,000 large, and indulged in an age-old tradition every visitor to Dublin is welcome to do it, a pint of Guinness at By MEERA SELVA, SLOBODAN LEKIC updated 5/23/2011 9:03:47 PM ET 2011-05-24T01:03:47 + - LONDON — A dense ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano blew toward Scotland on Monday, causing airlines to cancel flights, forcing President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland, and raising fears of a repeat of last year's huge travel disruptions in Europe that stranded millions of passengers. Don't miss these Travel stories Report: Airlines collecting $36.1B in fees this year Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said it appears that ash from the Grimsvotn volcano could reach Scottish airspace as early as Tuesday and affect other parts of the U.K. and Ireland later in the week. British Airways suspended all its flights for Tuesday morning between London and Scotland, while Dutch carrier KLM and Easyjet canceled flights to and from Scotland and northern England at the same time. Two domestic airlines also announced flight disruptions.

Still, authorities say they don't expect the kind of massive grounding of flights that followed last year's eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland because systems and procedures have been improved since then and the cloud is currently not expected to move over continental Europe. Pilots unions, however, expressed concerns that the ash could still be dangerous. Obama, who had been scheduled to spend Monday night in Ireland, was forced to fly to London early because of the ash cloud. Last year's Icelandic eruption also forced a change in his schedule then, causing him to cancel a trip to Poland. Post-Rapture blues? See a little heaven on Earth Glasgow-based regional airline Loganair canceled 36 flights scheduled for Tuesday morning. It said its flights between Scottish islands would be unaffected. Another small airline, Eastern Airways, which is based in northern England, also canceled all flights to and from Scotland on Tuesday. Advertise "Our No. 1 priority is to ensure the safety of people both onboard aircraft and on the ground," said Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA.

"We can't rule out disruption, but the new arrangements that have been put in place since last year's ash cloud mean the aviation sector is better prepared and will help to reduce any disruption in the event that volcanic ash affects U.K. airspace." Many airlines said authorities last year overestimated the danger to planes and overreacted by closing airspace for five days amid fears that the abrasive ash could cause engines to stall. CAA spokesman Jonathan Nicholson said authorities this time would give airlines information about the location and density of ash clouds. Any airline that wanted to fly would have to present a safety report to aviation authorities in order to be allowed to fly. He said most British airlines had permission to fly through medium-density ash clouds, but none had asked for permission to fly through high-density clouds, classified as having over 4,000 micrograms of ash per cubic meter. Even at that concentration of volcanic ash, experts said the air would not look much different from airspace unaffected by the ash, but officials say the tiny particles in the ash can sandblast windows and stop jet engines. The international pilots' federation warned that it believed the cloud still presented a potential danger to commercial aircraft despite developments since last year.

"It remains our view that when there is an unknown then it is always better to err on the side of caution," said Gideon Ewers, spokesman for the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations. Thurai Rahulan, a senior lecturer in aeronautics at Salford University in northwest England, said the technology on how to measure and monitor ash has improved, but aircraft's ability to cope with ash has not changed. Jon Gustafsson / AP This photo, taken Saturday, shows smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano, which began erupting for the first time since 2004. "Aircraft manufacturers have made more resources available to conduct studies on tolerating higher concentrations of ash, but as far as I know, no possible improvements have yet made it to front line operations yet," he said. The disruption in Scotland is being caused by the smaller of two ash clouds from the volcano. The main cloud was causing minor disruptions around Scandinavia. Iceland's main airport, Keflavik, and domestic airport Reykjavik both reopened Monday after being closed for almost 36 hours. Grimsvotn began erupting Saturday.

Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, spokeswoman for the airport administrator Isavia, said the first flight to take off would be an Icelandair flight to London Heathrow. Advertise "The outlook is good for Keflavik and other Icelandic airports in the coming 24 hours," said Gudmundsdottir. "We don't have a forecast for after that so we wait and see." The Met Office, Britain's weather forecasters, said there has been no major changes in the forecast — that some ash will drift across U.K. airspace, mostly in Scotland and Northern Ireland, by Tuesday morning. But the weather in the U.K. has been very unsettled in the past two days and will continue to be that way in the days ahead, making predictions difficult. "When it's all over the place, it's a bit trickier to predict where things may go," said forecaster Charlie Powell. An Icelandic meteorological official said the eruption already appeared to be getting smaller, but Thierry Mariani, France's transport minister, said it was too early to tell whether air travel over Europe would be affected by the eruption.

Mariani told Europe 1 radio that the composition of the cloud will be examined in the coming days and if the ash is found to be harmful to airplanes, countries may take a joint decision to close part of Europe's airspace. "The priority must always remain to ensure security," he said. U.K. Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond told the BBC that Britain had equipment in Iceland analyzing the ash as it comes out of the volcano, and equipment in the UK that analyses the density of the ash. "We won't see a blanket closing of airspace," he said. The plume was drifting mostly southward at a height of 5 kilometers to 9 kilometers (16,404 feet to 29,528 feet), the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a report late Monday. Those are the normal altitudes for passenger airliners, and the plume was down from a maximum height of 50,000 feet Sunday, said Steinunn Jakobsdottir, a geophysicist at the forecaster. The eruption has abated slightly since Sunday and no earthquakes have been recorded at the site since then, the forecaster said.

The European air traffic control agency's models showed the main plume of ash gradually extending northward from Iceland in the next two days. The cloud is predicted to arch its way north of Scandinavia and possibly touch the islands off the northern Russian coastline within the next two days. Advertise Eurocontrol said the smaller ash plume was not expected to move farther east than the west coast of Scotland. Some airline chiefs complained that regulators had overreacted by shutting much of Europe's airspace last year, stranding millions of passengers and causing big losses to airlines. But a study last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded the shutdown had been justified. The possibility of disruption appeared to be affecting airline shares, which fell more than the market average. IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, closed down 5.1 percent on the day while Lufthansa shed 3.5 percent and Air France KLM fell 4.5 percent. Lekic reported from Brussels. Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; Gabriele Steinhauser and Raf Casert in Brussels; and Maria Cheng contributed to this report. © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Related slideshows In a photo taken on May 24, plumes of ash and steam billow out from the crater of the Grimsvotn volcano. Air traffic disruption triggered by the eruption of Iceland's volcano was reduced to parts of Norway and Sweden Thursday, as the last spits of hot vapour seeped out of the crater. Thousands of passengers had their travel plans ripped up after Saturday's eruption, with hundreds of flights over Scotland and Germany among the worst affected this week, although far short of the scale of disruption caused by another eruption on Iceland just over one year ago. (Bjorn Oddsson / AFP - Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation Icelandic farmer Helgi Vilberg Johansson poses with a lamb who was affected by ash spewed into the sky during the eruption of Iceland's Grimsvoetn volcano, on May 25, in Amardrangi Landbroti. Johansson said the air was thick with volcanic ash and he couldn't see out of the windows when he heard the lambs making noise. When he went out to investigate, he found that a few of the lambs had died.

(Ragnar Axelsson / AFP - Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation A plume smoke is seen rising from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland Wednesday May 25. (Agust Gudbjornsson / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise A worker photographs the volcanic ash from the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano inside of a fuel dispensing machine in Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland May 26. Iceland's volcano is producing mostly steam rather than ash and should calm down within a few days, national police said on Thursday encouraging hopes there will be no further disruption to flights in northern Europe. (Lucas Jackson / Reuters) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise A farmer, left, and a rescue worker collect animals near the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur on May 24. People living next to the glacier where the Grimsvotn volcano burst into life on Saturday were most affected, with ash shutting out the daylight and smothering buildings and vehicles. An ash cloud from a volcano on Iceland shut down flights in northern Britain and elsewhere in north Europe on Tuesday and was heading to Germany, but officials expected no repeat of last year's air chaos.

(Ingolfur Juliusson / Reuters) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise Passengers wait in the main terminal at Edinburgh Airport, in Scotland on May 24. Ash from an Icelandic volcano forced the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Scotland on Tuesday but Ireland's Ryanair said it would protest against "unnecessary" restrictions. (David Moir / Reuters) Share Back to slideshow navigation The eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano sends thousands of tons of volcanic ash into the sky on May 23 above Iceland. The cloud 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, although authorities inisist that this Grimsvotn poses a lesser threat. (Jon Magnusson / Getty Images Contributor) Share Back to slideshow navigation A combination of pictures shows the growing ash plume from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, as its eruption begins on Saturday, May 21. (Reuters) Share Back to slideshow navigation A group of students help a pair of German hitchhikers pack up their camp site just east of Kirkjubæjarklaustur on May 22.

(Anna Andersen) Share Back to slideshow navigation The eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano sends thousands of tons of volcanic ash into the sky on May 23 above Iceland. Airlines began canceling flights to and from Scotland because of volcanic ash, although experts expected no repeat of travel chaos from an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano a year ago. (Jon Magnusson / Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation A man cleans his ash-smothered car in the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, southern Iceland, on May 23. (Vilheldm Gunnarsson / EPA) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise This satellite image provided by NASA shows the plume of dense ash from the Grimsvotn volcano as it casts a shadow to the west on May 23. (AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation A bird is lit by a vehicle's headlights in the middle of the day, as it sits on the road in an ash cloud, near Kirkjubaearklaustur on May 23. (Brynjar Gauti / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation A plane is seen against a sunset over Kensington Palace in London, May 23.

A dense cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano was being blown toward Scotland, forcing several airlines to cancel their flights. (Alastair Grant / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama board Air Force One at the airport in Dublin on May 23 en route to London. Obama left Ireland ahead of schedule as concerns over an ash cloud sped up his travel plans. (Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation A man walking a street in the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, around noon on May 23. (Vilheldm Gunnarsson / EPA) Share Back to slideshow navigation Editor's note: This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Click to view the image, or use the buttons above to navigate away. This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Click to view the image, or use the buttons above to navigate away. This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Click to view the image, or use the buttons above to navigate away.

Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano prompts eruption fears - CNN.com Another Icelandic volcano rumbles 02:25 Story highlights Icelandic authorities say there's increased seismic activity around Bardarbunga volcano But there's no sign yet of magma moving to the surface or ash spewing into the sky Iceland has posted an orange aviation alert, indicating "increased potential of eruption" The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 caused disruption to millions of travelers In 2010, an Icelandic volcano with an unpronounceable name spewed an ash cloud into the skies that disrupted travel for millions of passengers and cost airlines a small fortune. Now another Icelandic volcano is rumbling, prompting fears of a repeat of the travel chaos that afflicted northern Europe when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano did its worst. Its name -- Bardarbunga -- is a little less daunting, but it could still cause trouble. Something is brewing While there's no sign yet of magma moving to the surface, according to Iceland's Meteorological Office, something's definitely up beneath the Earth's surface.

In what the Meteorological Office describes as an "intense earthquake swarm," scientists registered some 2,600 earthquakes between early Saturday morning and Monday evening. And after the strongest earthquake since 1996 was measured in the area early Monday, an orange aviation alert was posted by Icelandic authorities -- indicating "heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption." "The reason we are reacting in this way is that this one is bigger and more powerful than we have seen in a long time in this area," said Vidir Reynisson, of the Iceland Civil Protection Agency, of the earthquake swarm. Scientists have noticed an increase in seismic activity around the volcano, located in the northwestern region of Vatnajokull glacier, one of Europe's largest glaciers, over the past seven years, the Meteorological Office said. The level dropped a little after the eruption of another volcano on the same glacier, Grimsvotn, in 2011, but has since picked up again. Earthquakes may signal eruption As of Monday evening, the majority of earthquakes measured were at a depth of 5 to 10 kilometers. There's more potential for a volcanic eruption if magma movement occurs at less than 10 kilometers' depth.

According to the Smithsonian Institute Global Volcanism Program, Bardarbunga last erupted in 1910. If it should blow its top again, it could be bad news for travelers. Volcanic ash can be a serious hazard to aircraft, reducing visibility, damaging flight controls and ultimately causing jet engines to fail. The Eyjafjallajokull eruption forced the cancellation and diversion of thousands of flights per day at the peak of the problem. "It was causing problems for millions of passengers, the airlines themselves were losing lots of money because they could not fly," Paul Charles, former director of communications for Virgin Atlantic and Eurostar, told CNN. "And the customer relations departments of airlines were really suffering because they were taking huge numbers of complaints and they had no solution." Air travel still smooth Europe's air authority, Eurocontrol, said Tuesday it was monitoring the Bardarbunga situation but that there is no impact at this time on European aviation. It also insists that changes have been made to help avoid the kind of chaos seen after Eyjafjallajokull erupted. "Europe is more prepared to deal with volcanic ash these days; we have better mechanisms in place than we did in 2010.

Every year, volcanic ash exercises are conducted and we learn from them: the latest one was held in April this year," it said. "However, volcanic ash is still a hazard for aviation and does have the potential to cause disruption. Safety is, as ever, our primary concern." Iceland volcano: Grimsvotn eruption hits flights - BBC News BBC News Iceland volcano: Grimsvotn eruption hits flights 22 May 2011 Close share panel Media captionMatthew Roberts, Iceland's Met Office: "Eruption beginning to decline in strength" 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 said: "We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have." The authority said Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, would remain shut for the rest of Sunday. But officials say the eruption is unlikely to have the same impact as Eyjafjallajokul in 2010. University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said this was Grimsvotn's largest eruption for 100 years, "much bigger and more intensive than Eyjafjallajokull". He added: "There is a very large area in south-east Iceland where there is almost total darkness and heavy fall of ash. But it is not spreading nearly as much. The winds are not as strong as they were in Eyjafjallajokull." He said this ash was coarser than last year's eruption, falling to the ground more quickly instead of floating long distances.

Europe's air traffic control organisation said on Sunday: "There is currently no impact on European or trans-Atlantic flights and the situation is expected to remain so for the next 24 hours. "Aircraft operators are constantly being kept informed of the evolving situation." However, weather officials warned that ash could reach northern Scotland by Tuesday and other parts of Britain, France and Spain by Thursday or Friday if the eruption continues at the same rate, according to Reuters. In Scotland, a meeting of the government's resilience committee chaired by Transport Secretary Keith Brown is currently being held to discuss the possible impact. Threat to engines Grimsvotn lies under the the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajokull in south-east Iceland. 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.

Question: What is the name of the Icelandic volcano which erupted in May 2011 causing disruption of flights around northern Europe?
Answer: GRIMSVOTN