The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) in Spring 2010 and its possible consequences

March 20, 2010, in southern Iceland, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano began to erupt after almost 200 years of silence. Three weeks later, on April 14, a 500-m long fissure opened in the ice cap covering the volcano, ejecting molten lava and huge amounts of steam, volcanic ash, and toxic gases into the atmosphere. This produced a giant ash cloud, which disrupted air traffic across Europe for several days. This paper presents a description of the eruption and gives a brief review of the composition of volcanic lava and gases, as well as examples of the adverse effects of volcanic ash on humans and livestock in many Icelandic farms.