Icelandic volcano erupts

Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano, which lies under the Vatnajokull glacier about 120 miles east of Iceland's capital, Rejkjavik, began erupting Saturday, May 21, 2011.

The powerful volcanic eruption, which was accompanied by a series of small earthquakes, sent a plume of ash, smoke and steam 12 miles into the air.

A cloud of smoke and ash is seen over the Grimsvoetn volcano — Getty

In less than an hour the cloud rising up from Grimsvoetn as a result of the eruption had reached an altitude of 6.8 miles," according to the Icelandic Meterological Institute.

Grimsvotn volcano Iceland — AP Photo/ Pll Stefansson

The volcano at Grimsvotn, a lake in the middle of Vatnajokull, the biggest glacier in Iceland, last erupted in November 2004 (pictured here).

This satellite image provided by NASA Sunday, May 22, 2011, shows the plume of dense ash from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland as it casts a shadow to the west. The plume from the volcano was bearing down on Scotland.

Vehicles are covered in ash near to Kirkjubaearklaustur, approx. 160 miles from Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday, May 23, 2011.

Tourists leave the Islandia Hotel in Nupur as ash continues to pour out of the erupting Grimsvoetn volcano, May 22, 2011.

Anna Hardadottir, a farmer of Horgsland, leads a horse through the ash pouring out of the erupting Grimsvoetn volcano, May 22, 2011.

A dead lamb lies covered in ash near Kirkjubaearklaustur, Iceland, Tuesday, May 24 2011, after the Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on Saturday, sending clouds of ash high into the air that have then been carried toward the European continent on the wind.

A member of a rescue team checks on a farmer near Kirkjubaearklaustur, Monday, May 23, 2011.

Farmers tend to their animals near Kirkjubaearklaustur, about 160 miles from Rejkjavik, Tuesday, May 24, 2011, after the Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on Saturday, sending clouds of ash high into the air. The ash cloud forced U.S. President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland on Monday, and raised fears of a repeat of huge travel disruptions in Europe last year when emissions from another of Iceland's volcanos, Eyjafjalljokull, stranded millions of passengers.

An image provided by NASA shows the ash plume from the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland on Monday, May 23, 2011 as recorded by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite. British air traffic controllers say ash from the erupting Iceland volcano will affect flights out of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland Tuesday.

A passenger looks at the flight information boards at Dublin International airport in Ireland, May 24, 2011. Airlines grounded hundreds of flights Tuesday after a plume of ash from a volcano in Iceland blanketed Britain and touched Scandinavia.

Stranded passengers rest after their flights were canceled, at Edinburgh Airport in Edinburgh, Scotland Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

Smoke rises from the Grimsvotn volcano, May 21, 2011.