Why did Eyjafjallajokull erupt? Iceland lies on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, a constructive plate margin separating the North American Plate and the Eurasian plate. The two plates are moving apart due to ridge push along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. As the plates move apart, magma fills the magma chamber below Eyjafjallajokull.

Icelanders take advantage of Iceland’s volcanic nature mostly in geothermal ways. Near volcanos, there are thinner areas of the Earth’s crust than in other areas. In these thinner areas, we can dig far enough to get an area of warmth – much warmer than on the surface.

The ash plume from Eyjafjallajökull caused turmoil in the air for nearly a month. Still, the eruption was a relatively small event. The reason that Eyjafjallajökull had such widespread influence was due to how the volcano’s ash spread unusually far and stayed for an oddly long time in the atmosphere.

This meant that the clouds were almost unavoidable for any given flight in or out of the continent. In total, the six-day flight ban resulted in the cancellation of 95,000 flights and a US$1.7 billion loss for the airline industry.

The ash cloud caused further disruptions to air travel operations in Scotland and Ireland on 4 and 5 May and in Spain, Portugal, northern Italy, Austria, and southern Germany on 9 May. Irish and UK airspace closed again on 16 May and reopened on 17 May. The eruption occurred beneath glacial ice.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have helped to reduce the likelihood of this happening again. The eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 wreaked havoc on Europe’s airways. The rapid spread of a huge cloud of ash led to over 100,000 flight cancellations, at a cost estimated at £3 billion.

In 2010, an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland sent clouds of ash and dust into the atmosphere, interrupting air travel between Europe and North America because of concerns the material could damage jet engines. More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of passengers.

It is generally considered safe for you to visit the Fagradalsfjall volcano. You might be wondering how this is possible, especially if you think back to when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010.