Dust Drifts Across Iceland As Earthquake Swarms Rattle The Reykjanes Ridge

By Mark Dunphy - Wed Sep 14,

MODIS satellite image of Iceland from Tuesday afternoon

Parts of southern Iceland have been shrouded in a thick haze of dust in recent days as a result of soil erosion and airborne ash particles from recent volcanic eruptions.

Satellite imagery on Tuesday showed the dust plume emanating from the southwestern edge of the Vatnajoekull National Park, close to the Grímsvötn volcano which erupted earlier this year. The ash drift is also located a short distance east of Eyjafjallajökul and Katla volcanoes.

Local officials said on Tuesday that a considerable volume of volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökul (2010) and Grímsvötn (2011) eruptions, combined with soil erosion, is being carried by strong winds toward the sparsely populated south central coastline.

The newspaper Fréttabladid reported that air pollution levels in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík well exceeded the accepted health limit during Sunday.

Meteorologist Haraldur Eiríksson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Morgunbladid that a change in weather conditions midweek will restrict the ash drift. "The wind is supposed to calm [today] so hopefully the ash drift will decrease. In the middle of the week rainfall is likely, so that should help return air quality levels to normal," he said.

Earthquake Activity

Meanwhile, scores of earthquakes have been recorded in the Reykjanes ridge region of south-western Iceland during the past 24 hours. Two earthquake swarms, one on Monday evening and the other early on Tuesday, were recorded by the Icelandic Met Office.

Seismic activity is also continuing in the immediate vicinity of Katla. While officials have said that there is no evidence that an eruption is imminent they have acknowledged an unusual spike in harmonic tremor activity in the area during the past fortnight. Earlier today, an evacuation rehearsal took place at an elementary school in the town of Vik, located to the south of Katla.

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Russia's Shiveluch volcano erupts

Updated: 2011-09-13

(Xinhua)

VLADIVOSTOK - A volcano has erupted on Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, with ash rising to an altitude of 10 km above sea level, RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.

During the eruption, a crevice with a depth of about 30 meters was formed on top of the volcano. An earthquake that lasted seven minutes was also recorded, a representative from the Russian Academy of Sciences was quoted as saying.

The volcano's 10-km ash column was the highest during the past month, breaking the record of 8200 meters.

Currently there is no danger for local communities near the Shiveluch volcano, though the ashes may spread to nearby villages, the representative said.

The activities of the Shiveluch volcano, which rises 3283 meters above sea level, have increased since 2009. Since the volcano first erupted in 1980, its activities have been continuously monitored by local authorities.

There are more than 150 volcanos on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and 29 of them are active.