The Icelandic Met Office has raised its aviation warning code to red near the Bardarbunga volcano after an eruption began overnight. No volcanic ash has been detected by the radar system yet however, according to the Associated Press.
The eruption occurred near the Holuhran lava field, north of Dyngiujoekull glacier, Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed.
"If this eruption persists it could become a tourist attraction, as it will be relatively safe to approach, although the area is remote," said David Rothery, a professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University in Britain, according to AP. "This event should not be seen as 'relieving the pressure' on Bardarbunga itself, nor is it a clear precursor sign of an impending Bardarbunga eruption."
The event was described as being "not highly explosive," and isn't producing much of the fine ash that can affect aircraft engines.
Still, civil protection officials said Icelandic Air Traffic Control had closed the airspace above the eruption up to a height of 18,000 feet. All of the county's airports are still open.
"It's mostly effusive; there's no ash in the air, and not even in the vicinity," said Bjorn Oddsson, a geophysicist from Iceland's Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management. "So mostly lava is pouring out of the craters right now and the only flight restriction is over the area. All airports are open, and things are quite in control."
Intense seismic activity at Iceland's largest volcano system has raised worries that an eruption could cause another ash cloud like that from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010. The incident shut down most of Europe's airspace for almost a week.
A red alert means an eruption is imminent or underway, with a significant emission of ash "likely' according to Reuters.
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