Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Credit: Jochen Scheffl

Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption

15-19 April and 5-18 May 2010

Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Credit: Jochen Scheffl
Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Credit: Jochen Scheffl

Eyjafjallajökull erupted in Spring 2010, spewing volcanic ash into the atmosphere, where it was transported across Europe.

Last Updated

15 December 2022

Published on

19 May 2010

April eruption

Meteosat-9 observed the ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull's initial volcanic eruption.

Initially the cloud shows a distinctive black colour, due to ice particles which mask the ash signature. As the cloud progresses eastwards the cloud takes a reddish hue, clearly indicating the presence of volcanic ash.

 
 Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 15 April 07:45 UTC
Figure 1: Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 15 April 07:45 UTC
 

Download the Dust RGB animation

16 April

The volcanic ash cloud (peach coloured) from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption stretched from northern Finland to the United Kingdom.

It crossed Denmark and progressed further east along the Baltic coast toward Russia, whilst also drifting southward into Central Europe at a rate of 25km an hour.

 Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 16 April 07:30 UTC
Figure 2: Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 16 April 07:30 UTC

Download Met-9 DUST RGB animation

17 April

A detailed rapid scan animation showed the progression of the Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud from 15–17 April.

 Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 17 April 00:00 UTC
Figure 3: Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 17 April 00:00 UTC

Download animation (Credit: Martin Setvak, CHMI)

19 April

Eyjafjallajökull continued to eject volcanic ash, which initially headed south before turning in a south easterly direction after 05:00 UTC.

 Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 19 April 09:00 UTC
Figure 4: Meteosat-9 Dust RGB, 19 April 09:00 UTC

Download animation


May eruption

The Meteosat-9 animation in Figure 5 shows a large area over the Atlantic covered in the Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud from 5-10 May .

Figure 5: Meteosat-9 24h MF RGB, 5 May 18:00 UTC-10 Many 06:00 UTC. Credit: M Setvak.

The Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud seen in Meteosat-8 rapid scan imagery from 10 May (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Meteosat-8 RSS, 10 May

The Metop-A AVHRR RGB image from 11 May (Figure 7) shows an extensive ash plume.

Extensive ash plume from Eyjafjallajökull
Figure 7: Metop-A AVHRR RGB, 11 May 2010 11:49 UTC.

On 13 May the Eyjafjallajökull ash plume revisited the British Isles and the Benelux countries (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Meteosat-9 IR12.0–IR10.8, IR10.8–IR8.7, IR10.8, 13 May from 17:00 UTC.

The loop generated with the Nowcasting SAF ash flag product (Figure 9) shows the ash plume over the Atlantic, the British Isles and the Netherlands on from 15-18 May.

Eyjafjallajökull update - 16 May
Figure 9: Animated gif of the Nowcasting SAF dust flag product, 15 May-18 May

The Eyjafjallajökull ash plume could be in the Night Microphysics RGB product (Figure 10) as it reached Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany on 18 May.

Eyjafjallajökull update - 18 May
Figure 10: Meteosat-9 Night Microphysics RGB, 18 May 00:00 UTC

Eyjafjallajökull eruption in May