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Icelandic volcano eruption may last up to two years - paper

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The Icelandic volcano eruption may last up to two years, the head of the Volcanology and Geodynamics Institute of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences said on Wednesday.

The Icelandic volcano eruption may last up to two years, the head of the Volcanology and Geodynamics Institute of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences said on Wednesday.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily cited Genrikh Steinberg in an interview that Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Glacier has a significant peculiarity threatening to turn into "hissing frying pan".

Steinberg said the eruption started on March 21. At that time it did not cause mass panic since the lava was gradually pouring down the slopes and attracting just tourists. But on April 15, the crack lengthened and plunged into the glacier, triggering the latest eruption.

When the burning hot magma mixed with the ice, the glacier started melting, boiling and blowing up. The volcanologist said it is easy to illustrate the eruption process by pouring some water drops on a hot frying pan. He said as long as the ice above the crack melts, volcanic ash clouds from the eruptions will continue. According to Steinberg's estimation, the process may take up to two years.

The eruption on the Eyjafjallajokull Glacier in Iceland, which began April 14, paralyzed air traffic throughout central and northern Europe, leaving thousands of travelers stranded and forcing more than 20 European countries to close their airspace.

Flights resumed across Europe on Wednesday. Air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said at least 15,000 of the continent's 28,000 flights were expected to take off, but airlines say it will take weeks to transport all the stranded passengers.

MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti)

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