Iceland's Hekla volcano shows signs of activity

Jul 06, 2011

(AP) -- Scientists are monitoring unusual underground activity that could signal an eruption at the Hekla volcano in southern Iceland.

University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson said Wednesday that appears to be moving deep beneath the volcano. He says that does not necessarily mean an eruption is imminent. But scientists expect Hekla, one of Iceland's most , to erupt soon.

In the past few decades, Hekla has erupted about every 10 years, most recently in February 2000.

Iceland, in the remote North Atlantic, is a volcanic hotspot. In April 2010 ash from an eruption of its Eyjafjallajokul volcano grounded flights across Europe for days, disrupting travel for 10 million people.

In May, the Grimsvotn volcano erupted, causing minor disruption to .

Explore further: Siberian caves warn of permafrost meltdown

not rated yet
add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

New eruption could be looming in Iceland, experts warn

Nov 01, 2010

An Icelandic volcano has shown signs it could be about to burst into life, just months after an eruption from another volcano caused Europe's biggest air shutdown since World War II, experts said Monday.

Icelandic volcano flings up ash, shuts airport

May 22, 2011

(AP) -- Iceland closed its main international airport and canceled all domestic flights Sunday as a powerful volcanic eruption sent a plume of ash, smoke and steam 12 miles (20 kilometers) into the air.

Iceland fears 2nd, even larger volcanic eruption

Mar 21, 2010

(AP) -- A volcano in southern Iceland has erupted for the first time in almost 200 years, raising concerns that it could trigger a larger and potentially more dangerous eruption at a volatile volcano nearby.

Iceland volcano eruption all but over: experts

May 25, 2011

The eruption of Iceland's Grimsvoetn volcano has tailed off and its ash plume has almost disappeared, experts and officials said on Wednesday, refusing though to declare the flight-disrupting incident closed.

Recommended for you

NASA image: Rare clear view of Alaska

28 minutes ago

(Phys.org) —On most days, relentless rivers of clouds wash over Alaska, obscuring most of the state's 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers) of coastline and 586,000 square miles (1,518,000 square kilometers) ...

Siberian caves warn of permafrost meltdown

23 hours ago

Climate records captured in Siberian caves suggest 1.5 degrees of warming is enough to trigger thawing of permafrost, according to a paper to be given at the Geological Society of London on 27 June.

User comments : 0

More news stories

Dusty surprise around giant black hole

(Phys.org) —ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer has gathered the most detailed observations ever of the dust around the huge black hole at the centre of an active galaxy. Rather than finding all of ...

NASA image: Rare clear view of Alaska

(Phys.org) —On most days, relentless rivers of clouds wash over Alaska, obscuring most of the state's 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers) of coastline and 586,000 square miles (1,518,000 square kilometers) ...

Have you had your cereal today?

Cereals are grasses that produce grains, the bulk of our food supply. Carnegie's Plant Biology Department is releasing genome-wide metabolic complements of several cereals including rice, barley, sorghum, and millet. Along ...