For the first time since the beginning of the eruption, the main airport in Iceland, Keflavík International Airport, has been closed due to the ash coming from Eyjafjallajökull. Winds changed direction during the night, bringing ashes to the southwestern area of the country. The airport website shows that all flights have been cancelled. The other two international airports in the country, Akureyri and Egilsstadir, are open.
While the ash cloud is now visible all the way to the capital, the ash fall should not affect Reykjavík significantly, even though wind speed and direction might change things. The Icelandic Met Office reports possible light ash fall for today and the next days in Reykjavík (latest updates can be found here). At the eruption’s location, in the meanwhile, new seismic activity has been registered since the eruption switched to a new phase, showing no direct correlation between the current eruption and what is going on underground. Ash plume rose again yesterday at a significant height above the volcano – 4km – and a small increase has been registered in the water level of Markarfljót river, probably because of water melting from the eruption’s glacier.
