Bubbling up, the Iceland volcano
BOILING clouds of smoke rise off glowing lava pouring from a half-mile long crack in the earth.
This is Bardarbunga volcano erupting yesterday after two weeks of earthquakes – and growing fears about volcanic ash affecting air travel.
But believe it or not, this dramatic picture shows only relatively minor activity. After briefly raising the threat level from orange to red, authorities in Iceland now say there is – so far – no danger to commercial planes from the ‘fissure eruption’, in which molten rock is rising to the surface along a side channel 25 miles from the main crater.
Officials said the eruption is not very explosive, so little ash is being produced. Ash damages plane engines, and in 2010 thousands of flights had to be cancelled across Europe after a major eruption.