Iceland Volcano Ash Cloud Spreads;Delays Flights

The Grimsvotn volcano eruption in Iceland causes flight delays as the ash cloud spreads (20Pics)

The Grimsvotn volcano, which lies beneath the ice of the uninhabited Vatnajokull 

glacier in southeast Iceland, began erupting on Saturday May 21 for the first time 

since 2004. It was the volcano's largest eruption in 100 years

The ash from Grimsvotn - about 120 miles (200 kilometres) east of the capital, 

Reykjavik - turned the sky black and rained down on nearby buildings, cars and fields

Civil protection workers helped farmers get their animals into shelters and urged 

residents to wear masks and stay indoors

The UK's Meteorological Office, which runs Europe's Volcanic Ash Advisory 

Centre, said the plume from the volcano would spread largely northeast, but 

some ash would creep south and east, toward the crowded skies over northern 

Europe. Where it goes after that depends on the intensity of the eruption 

and weather patterns

Scientists said the eruption won't have the global impact of last year's eruption

 some 80 miles (130 kilometres) away at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which 

left 10 million travellers stranded around the world

Icelandic air traffic control operator ISAVIA established a 120 nautical mile 

(220 kilometre) no-fly zone around the volcano, closed Keflavik airport, the 

country's main hub, and cancelled all domestic flights

Keflavik airport has had to cancel at least 40 international flights

University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said the

 Grimsvotn eruption was "much bigger and more intensive" than last year's 

eruption and 10 times as powerful as Grimsvotn's last explosion in 2004

"There is a very large area in southeast Iceland where there is almost total 

darkness and heavy fall of ash," he said. "But it is not spreading nearly as 

much. The winds are not as strong as they were (last year)," said University 

of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson

Tourists leave the Islandia Hotel in Nupur as ash continues to fall

Grimsvotn's eruption in 2004 lasted for several days and briefly disrupted

 international flights. The volcano also erupted in 1998, 1996 and 1993

Sparsely populated Iceland is one of the world's most geologically unstable 

countries, sitting astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and 

North American continental plates rub up against one another

Frequent earthquakes push magma from deep underground toward the surface, 

and volcanic eruptions are common. The ground is covered by hardened black 

lava from past eruptions and steam belches from the earth - harnessed by

 Icelanders for geothermal power

An ash sample awaits examination at the command centre in 

Kirkjubaejarklaustur as authorities prepare to deal with the effects of the eruption

Footprints are seen on a surface of ash outside a gas station in 

Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Reykjavik

Volcanic eruptions in Iceland often spark flash flooding from melting glacier

 ice but rarely cause deaths. Usually they only have a local impact, but 

when they do draw the world's attention, it's in a spectacular way

Geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said the ash from the Grimsvotn 

eruption is coarser than in last year's eruption, falling to the ground more quickly

A farmer prepares to herd the farm's sheep indoors to shelter from the ash

 fallout in Mulakot

A dead bird lies on Higway One near the town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur in southeast Iceland

A smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano

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