Justin Mullins, contributor
(Image: Jon Gustafsson/AP/PA)
It's a much bigger eruption than Eyjafjallajökull and for most of us it's easier to pronounce, too. On Saturday Iceland's Grímsvötn volcano erupted and started spewing ash into the stratosphere.
Unlike last year, when planes were grounded across Europe, the threat of flight disruptions is lower. Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, says that although Grímsvötn is spewing 10 to 100 times more ash into the atmosphere than Eyjafjallajökull, the ash particles are bigger and heavier and so more likely to fall back to earth quickly.
The prevailing winds are also helping to disperse the particles. Nevertheless, meteorologists say the ash cloud is due to reach the UK on Tuesday and the UK's air traffic control service, NATS, is keeping a close eye on the situation.