Iceland’s Grimsvotn Volcano Erupts

Jon Magnusson—Getty Images
Jon Magnusson—Getty Images
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.

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

Video courtesy Jon Gustafsson.

Related Topics: , ,

Latest Posts

Saudi citizens rest after presenting Saudi Billionaire HRH Prince al Waleed bin Talal with petitions for his help at a desert camp outside of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, February 27, 2013.   Like many families across Saudi Arabia who are barely scraping above the poverty line each month, many poor Saudis rely on the hope of the charity of others to survive. (Credit: Lynsey Addario/ VII)

Rich Nation, Poor People: Saudi Arabia by Lynsey Addario

With its vast oil wealth, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest concentrations of super rich households in the world. But an estimated 20 percent of the population, if not more, lives in crippling poverty.

Read More
USA. Illinois. Chicago. 1948. An alley between overcrowded tenements, with garbage thrown over the railings of the back porches. Most of the area's tenants were transient. Contact email:New York : photography@magnumphotos.comParis : magnum@magnumphotos.frLondon : magnum@magnumphotos.co.ukTokyo : tokyo@magnumphotos.co.jpContact phones:New York : +1 212 929 6000Paris: + 33 1 53 42 50 00London: + 44 20 7490 1771Tokyo: + 81 3 3219 0771Image URL:http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox_VPage&IID=2S5RYDI201Y8&CT=Image&IT=ZoomImage01_VForm

In Memoriam: Wayne Miller (1918 – 2013)

Michael Ackerman—Agence VU/Aurora Photos

Darkness Visible: On World Goth Day, Photos of Romance and Shadow