Spectacular eruption on Monday sends thick ash and smoke towards central Europe

The Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland has erupted under Vatnajokull glacier, the nation's largest, and the resulting ash and smoke has forced airlines worldwide to divert flights so as not to fly through the gases produced by the blast. The volcano erupted on Monday, and is producing a steady flow of ash and lava. Explosions related to the eruption have sent ash up to FL400, bringing back memories of the Mt. St. Helens explosion in the US, which also sent ash and smoke well up into the flight levels.

Scientists are theorizing that the eruption was caused by a drainage of a lake that sits under the glacier. Pressure increased as the water drained, allowing magma to make it to the service. Thankfully, the volcano's location is away from populated areas and no one is at risk at this time.

Oli Thor Arnarsson, of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, says that changes in the wind patterns over the area might send the cloud of ash into central Europe. "We are speculating that the eruption should be clear tomorrow. But if there are more eruptions, we may have ash over central Europe," said Arnarsson to the Associated Press.

As a result of the eruption and ash cloud, KLM has cancelled 59 flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. "Because of company rules we can't fly below it and we can't fly above it," said airport spokesman Frank Houben. Visibility is not the big problem, but rather the abrasive nature of the ash, which can cause damage to jet engines and in some cases suffocate them, causing flameouts.

"It's the equivalent of sandblasting an aircraft engine with grit," said Dr Matthew J Roberts of the Icelandic Meteorological Office in Reykjavik, Iceland, to the BBC. "As the aeroplane draws in large quantities of air, suspended particles cause abrasion inside the engine that can result in the aircraft stalling."

FMI: www.vedur.is/english/