© UnknownGrimsvotn volcano
Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes. Smoke could be seen rising from the volcano, which lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland.
One eyewitness, Bolli Valgardsson, said the plume rose quickly several thousand feet into the air.
Grimsvotn last erupted in 2004. Scientists have been expecting a new eruption and have said previously that this volcano's eruption will likely be small and should not lead to the air travel chaos caused in April 2010 by ash from the Eyjafjallajokul volcano.
Sparsely populated Iceland is one of the world's most volcanically active countries and eruptions are frequent.
Eruptions often cause local flooding from melting glacier ice, but rarely cause deaths.
Last year's Eyjafjallajokul eruption left some 10 millions of air travelers stranded worldwide after winds pushed the ash cloud toward some of the world's busiest airspace and led most northern European countries to ground all planes for five days.
Whether widespread disruption occurs again will depend on how long the eruption lasts, how high the ash plume rises and which way the wind blows.
In November, melted glacial ice began pouring from Grimsvotn, signaling a possible eruption. That was a false alarm but scientists have been monitoring the volcano closely ever since.
The volcano also erupted in 1998, 1995 and 1993. The eruptions have lasted between a day and several weeks.
that's what the national radio in Iceland is reporting this morning. Keflavik airport was closed at 8:30. The eruptions in Grímsvötn are usually shortlived and uninteresting, except for the risk of major floods, which isn't the case now. So, for the second year running, we have a major volcanic activity here in Iceland, what could that portend?