Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano has had thousands of small earthquakes over the last few days, leading meteorologists to think that it may be a prelude to a possible eruption, Mashable reported. Authorities are now evacuating tourists and locals, carrying out safety measures in the area.
The seismic activity also led authorities to issue an aviation alert, as the ash that volcanoes spew may interfere with planes' navigation, Mashable added. Back in 2010, another Icelandic volcano, the Eyjafjallajökull, spewed ashes up to nine miles high and sent a particle cloud over Europe that grounded a few hundred thousand flights and a few million travelers, causing an estimated $1.7 billion loss in revenues for airline companies, the report stated. This is due to the part that volcanic ash has the potential to damage aircraft engines, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The 3,600 temblors (at least) that rocked the volcano since Saturday, and a Magnitude 4.5 quake on Monday, plus the detection of Magma movement within six miles from the surface imply that there is a potential risk of volcanic eruption, said the Icelandic Meteorological Office in its update on Wednesday.
Unlike other countries with a lot of volcanoes (the countries in the Pacific Ring of Fire, for instance) there are bigger implications in case the Bardarbunga volcano does erupt.
According to DW, its biggest threat to Iceland would be the possibility of flooding, as the magma can melt the glacier and send water down to the valley. CNN also said that the volcano is located on the northernwest region of one of Europe's largest glaciers, which is why extra care is given in observing volcanic activity.
In the CNN report, Europe's air authority, Eurocontrol said on Tuesday that it was still monitoring the situation at Bardarbunga, bit there is nothing to fear as of the moment, insisting that changes were made to avoid the chaos that was brought about by Eyjafjallajökull in 2010.
"Europe is more prepared to deal with volcanic ash these days; we have better mechanisms in place than we did in 2010. Every year, volcanic ash exercises are conducted and we learn from them: the latest one was held in April this year," Eurocontrol said, as quoted by CNN. "However, volcanic ash is still a hazard for aviation and does have the potential to cause disruption. Safety is, as ever, our primary concern."