Saturday, April 17, 2010

Iceland volcano activity increases

Updated at: 1340 PST, Saturday, April 17, 2010
LONDON: A geologist says activity has increased at an erupting Icelandic volcano, causing an ash plume to rise some 8.5kilometers (5.3 miles) into the air.

Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson of the University of Iceland says winds have cleared visibility for scientists and Saturday will be the first day they can fly above the volcano to assess the activity.

Once scientists determine how much ice has melted, it will bee asier to say how long the eruption could last. An ash plume that has disrupted travel across Europe has been caused by hot magma being cooled quickly by the melting ice cap.

Gudmundsson says as long as there is enough ice, more plumes could form causing even more travel disruption.

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