Associated Press (AP) just reported that the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has erupted in southern Iceland. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damages but a state of emergency was declared and hundreds of people were evacuated from nearby villages.

The eruption followed several weeks of small earthquakes. Paul Einarsson, a University of Iceland geophysicist, told AP that, “This was a rather small and peaceful eruption but we are concerned that it could trigger an eruption at the nearby Katla volcano, a vicious volcano that could cause both local and global damage.”

Scientists in Iceland had monitored recent activity using seismometers and global positioning instruments, and Einarsson noted that, “The volcano had been inflating since the beginning of the year, both rising and swelling.” Predicting eruptions, like predicting earthquakes is not an exact science, however, and Einarsson also said that, “Even though we were seeing increased seismic activity, it could have been months or years before we saw an eruption like this … we couldn’t say that there was an imminent risk for the area.”

Volcanic eruptions have been common throughout Iceland’s history. The island sits atop a large volcanic hotspot in the Atlantic’s mid-oceanic ridge and volcanic activity can be triggered by the spreading movement of the tectonic plates that sit side by side there. [Yahoo]

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Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland, mid-oecan ridge, tectonic plates, volcanic eruptions, volcano