Iceland volcano has minimal impact

REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- A volcano was flinging ash, smoke and steam miles into the air yesterday, dropping a thick layer of gray soot in an eruption far more forceful, but probably with far less impact, than the one that grounded planes across Europe last year.

The country's main airport was closed and pilots were warned to steer clear of Iceland as areas close to the Grimsvotn volcano were plunged into darkness. But scientists said another widespread aviation shutdown is unlikely, in part because the ash from this eruption is coarser and falling to Earth more quickly.

The volcano, which lies beneath the ice of the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, began erupting Saturday for the first time since 2004. It was Grimsvotn's largest eruption in 100 years.

The ash from Grimsvotn, about 120 miles east of Reykjavik, turned the sky black yesterday and rained down on buildings, cars and fields. Civil protection workers helped farmers get their animals into shelter and urged residents to wear masks and stay indoors. No ash fell on the capital.

Scientists said the eruption was unlikely to have the same global impact as last year's eruption 80 miles away at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which left 10 million travelers stranded around the world for five days.

"That was an unusual volcano, an unusual ash size distribution and unusual weather pattern, which all conspired together to make life difficult in Europe," University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson told The Associated Press.

Still, Icelandic air traffic control operator ISAVIA established a 120 nautical mile no-fly zone around the volcano, closed Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, and canceled all domestic flights. It said Keflavik would stay shut until at least noon today, canceling about 40 international flights.

Trans-Atlantic planes, including Air Force One, due to carry President Barack Obama to Ireland yesterday, were told to stay away from Iceland.

University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said the Grimsvotn eruption was "much bigger and more intensive" than last year's eruption and 10 times as powerful as Grimsvotn's 2004 explosion. "There is a very large area in southeast Iceland where there is almost total darkness and heavy fall of ash," he said. "But it is not spreading nearly as much."