MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Iceland is getting ready for a possible volcanic eruption, which could lead to a situation resembling the "ash crisis" of 2010.
The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April 2010 caused a mass cancellation of flights across Europe, affecting about 10 million people and leading to a major financial damage of $1.7 billion in related losses, the Guardian reports.
According to Iceland’s Civil Protection Agency, since midnight August 18, hundreds of earthquakes have taken place at the site of Bardarbunga – an Icelandic volcano located under the ice cap of Vatnajökull, Europe’s biggest glacier. The last Bardarbunga eruption took place in 1996. Due to its distant location and low frequency of explosions, the volcano remained little-known until the beginning of this week.
Following a powerful earthquake on Monday, the Icelandic meteorological office raised its current level of alert to "orange" - the second-highest on its five-point scale.
"As evidence of magma movement shallower than 10km implies increased potential of a volcanic eruption, the Bardarbunga aviation color code has been changed to orange," the IMO officials said.
According to Iceland’s Civil Protection Agency, there are no visible signs of an eruption at the moment. However, the possibility of such an eruption cannot be ignored. As scientists say, two scenarios are most likely to take place: the first one is explosion outside the Vatnajökull glacier, which will cause minor ash emissions and little problems at the local level. The second alternative is an eruption inside the glacier. As the IMO states, "it cannot be excluded that the current activity will result in an explosive sub-glacial eruption, leading to an outburst flood and ash emission." In that case, the ash will be thrown high into the atmosphere, causing a potential danger for jet engines.
The activity of the volcano comes in waves and its condition remains unstable. In order to secure the safety of air passengers, the five-color warning system will inform the aviation industry about the volcano’s activity and guarantee a constant monitoring of the situation.
