Eruption could last up to two years

TWO of Iceland’s leading experts on volcanoes warned yesterday that the Eyjafjallajokull eruption could last for up to two years, bringing further air traffic chaos to Europe.

As Irish and British airports began to reopen yesterday, the ash cloud caused by the volcano drifted eastwards, leading to the shutting down of airports on the continent. More than 20,000 flights have been cancelled in Europe over the past two days as a result of the eruption.

Ironically, the airport at Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital, was open for business yesterday, with only two cancellations.

Einar Kjartansson, geophysicist at the Icelandic met Office, said that the volcano could continue to spew out ash for some time to come.

“It is likely the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some weeks,” he said, “but where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather.”

“The current eruption is part of a sequence of events that could last for a couple of years.

“Past eruptions have lasted on and off for several months or a year or two,” he added.

He said it is possible intermittent disruption to air travel could continue for up to two years.

The last time there was an eruption near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier was in 1821, and that was a “lazy” eruption that lasted slowly and continuously for more than a year.

His views were echoed by Icelandic glaciologist, Helgi Bjornsson, who said the current volcanic eruption might behave similarly to the 1821 eruption.

Bjornsson is also concerned that smaller explosions could cause the nearby Katla volcano to erupt as well, with much more serious consequences.

Earlier yesterday, spurts of lava and ash shot out of the volcano Eyjafjallajokull and small tremors rocked the ground, a surge in activity that raised fears of a larger eruption at Katla.

Scientists say history has proven that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla follows — the only question is how soon. And Katla, located under the massive Myrdalsjokull icecap, threatens disastrous flooding and explosive blasts when it blows.

“The maximum flow in glacial bursts caused by Katla can be 50 or 100 times more voluminous than what we have seen.

“When the flood comes you better make a run for it,” Bjornsson told mbl.is, an Icelandic online news service.