Iceland said a small volcanic eruption in the Bardarbunga volcano system that started in the early hours of Friday had stopped and that it had lifted all airspace restrictions. Earlier in the day, the Icelandic Meteorological Office reduced its ash warning level for aviation to orange after concluding that the eruption posed no threat to aircraft.
The National Crisis Coordination Center said that the eruption left an almost 2,000-foot-long fissure and that there continued to be seismic activity in the area. The volcanic system, Iceland's largest, has been hit by thousands of earthquakes over the last two weeks, and scientists have been on high alert in case of an eruption.
Nick Petford, a vulcanologist at the University of Northampton in England, said there could be a sting in the tail. "Exactly the same thing happened in 2010 with the Eyjafjallajokull volcano," Petford said. "The main eruption was in April, but in March there was a fissure eruption which was a precursor to the much larger eruption."
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— Reuters