Icelandic volcano appears ready to blow its top; airlines prepare for a repeat of 2010

As Iceland’s Bárðarbunga volcano continues to rumble this week – with 1000 tremors on Wednesday alone – the fear that it will blow its top is rising higher than ever of before.

According to the Iceland Meteorological Office, an eruption appears to be more imminent now that earthquakes are becoming more frequent, so authorities have raised the official threat levels to orange – the second-highest level for the nation.

Tourists are being ordered to evacuate from the area around the volcano, which is situated 190 miles from the nation’s capital city of Reykjavik.

Making matters worse, the volcano lies beneath the country’s largest glacier. If magma does get shallow enough, it risks causing a catastrophic melt that would cause extensive regional flooding.

Air transport authorities throughout Europe are also watching the situation closely as any eruption could ground flights. At this point, airlines are preparing for a possible repeat of the travel chaos that ensued back in 2010 when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted and sent millions of tons of ash into the atmosphere and led to most of Europe shutting down all air travel for six days.

Extremely fine ash particulates can jam and clog jet engines, rendering them useless. The superheated ash can turn to glass and essentially melt the turbines – so it's best to avoid having planes fly through ash clouds. The eruption four years ago essentially led to the grounding of 100,000 flights, affecting some 10 million people, and causing a whopping $1.7 billion in lost revenue for the airline industry .

The full extent of the effects of any resulting ash cloud will depend on how high into the atmosphere the particulates are thrown. If they reach about 20,000 feet, like it did with the 2010 eruption, then all bets are off. The direction of airflows at those heights are considered unpredictable and could change at a moment's notice. At this point in time some predict it may affect the United Kingdom.

Organizers of a planned season-opening football game between Penn State and UCF in Ireland have shown concern of possible disruptions due to on oncoming ash cloud.

Iceland is home to some 200 volcanos, many of them active. It is so geologically active – mainly because it lies on the boundary of two continental plates – that it has produced about a third of all the lava flows on Earth in just the past 500 years. As these plates move apart, open fissures form that allow molten rock to reach the surface as lava.

At this point no one knows when Bárðarbunga may erupt – it could be today, tomorrow or next month. But in the meantime, we can all keep an eye on it, at least virtually. A webcam situated about 30 km from the volcano has a ringside view on the unfolding situation and snapshots are being broadcast live for the world to see.

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