Pictures: Iceland Volcano Erupts, Under Ice This Time

Volcanic Flood

Photograph by Brynjar Gauti, AP

Spurred by the under-ice eruption at nearby Eyjafjallajökull volcano, glacial meltwater flows through an intentional breach in Iceland's main coastal ring road on Wednesday. Workers had smashed holes in the highway in three spots to give the rushing water a clear route to the coast and prevent bridges from being swept away.

"The volcano is quite steep, so the floodwater comes down rather powerfully in a short time," geophysicist Einarsson said. "We were nervous that we would not be able to evacuate people in time, but this was quite successful."

Published April 14, 2010

Volcano Coast

Photograph by Ingolfur Juliusson, Reuters

Glacial meltwater surges seaward across Icelandic plains on Wednesday.

The under-ice volcanic eruption that liquefied a glacier atop Eyjafjallajökull volcano earlier that day was 10 to 20 times more powerful than an eruption last month in an ice-free area of the volcano, scientists say.

Published April 14, 2010

Glacial Gusher

Photograph courtesy Árni Sæberg, Icelandic Coast Guard

Water pours off a glacier near Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano in an aerial picture taken Wednesday, when a new vent began erupting beneath glacial ice.

Eyjafjallajökull first erupted at an ice-free vent on March 20, 2010, in a fiery display that sent fountains of lava shooting high into the air and ribbons of lava flowing down cliff faces. (See pictures of the initial Iceland volcano eruption.)

That eruption, the volcano's first in nearly 200 years, opened up new vents and built a 27-story-tall cone of magmatic rock before sputtering on Monday. (See aerial pictures of the Iceland volcano's earlier eruption.)

Published April 14, 2010

Previous Eruption

Image courtesy NASA

What it lacked in floods, Eyjafjallajökull volcano's previous eruption made up for with fire. Before dying down Monday, the ice-free vent—shown in a March 24 satellite picture—sparked a steady tourist trade with its photogenic lava fountains. (Iceland Volcano Pictures: Eruption Sparks Tourist Boom.)

Both eruptions might have agitated a neighboring volcano, called Katla, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away, scientists say.

"Historically," Einarsson said, "the eruption of [Eyjafjallajökull] has triggered the eruption of Katla," which, due to its history of causing catastrophic flooding, is considered one of Iceland's most dangerous volcanoes.

Published April 14, 2010