Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano began a small volcanic eruption as lava burst out underneath the Europe's largest glacier. In response, the government closed the airspace around the volcano, triggering fears of air chaos.

Iceland has issued aviation red alerts for Bardarbunga and authorities have evacuated the remote area 320 kilometers (200 miles) east of the capital of Reykjavik.

Following conflicting reports, the Icelandic Met Office confirmed the eruption under the Dyngjujökull glacier icecap in the northern part of Vatnajökull glacier.

The local authorities are keeping the country’s airspace open, but have declared a no-fly zone of 100 nautical miles by 140 nautical miles around the eruption zone.

But, the no-fly zone could be expanded if the eruption melts the ice and spews volcanic ash.

Prior to the eruption, the island state’s largest volcano was rocked by thousands of small earthquakes, deep beneath the Vatnajokull glacier, during the past week. On one of the days, authorities recorded up to 568 quakes.

The volcanic bursts are beginning to melt the ice within the glacier’s icecap, according to Icelandic Meteorological Office volcanologist Melissa Pfeffer.

Pfeffer added that it remains to be seen whether the eruption is powerful enough to melt through the ice - 100 to 400 meters (330 to 1,300 feet) thick.

If this indeed does happen, then ash would burst through the ice and into the air.

Bardarbunga has a dramatic history - about 8,000 years ago it was the source of the world’s largest eruption in the past 10,000 years, spewing out lava that covered 950 square kilometers of land.

Volcanic eruptions are common in Iceland, which is located in the hot seat of seismic activity - on top of the Atlantic’s mid-oceanic ridge.

In 2010, Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in Iceland, producing a giant cloud of ash that severely disrupted air travel, costing airlines millions of dollars.

More than 100,000 flights were canceled due to the eruption and 10 million of people were left stranded after aviation officials were forced to close Europe's air space for five days due to fears the ash could harm jet engines.
(RT)