ICELAND'S DISRUPTIVE VOLCANO and MORE EYJAFJALLAJOKULL

Lightning streaks across the sky as lava flows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul April 17, 2010.

As ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano continued to keep European airspace shut down over the weekend, affecting millions of travelers around the world, some government agencies and airlines clashed over the flight bans. Some restricted airspace is now beginning to open up and some limited flights are being allowed now as airlines are pushing for the ability to judge safety conditions for themselves. The volcano continues to rumble and hurl ash skyward, if at a slightly diminished rate now, as the dispersing ash plume has dropped closer to the ground, and the World Health Organization has issued a health warning to Europeans with respiratory conditions. Collected here are some images from Iceland over the past few days.




he volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air just prior to sunset ON Friday, April 16, 2010. Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars.

Long lens view of farm near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010.

A car is seen driving near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland, through the ash from the volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier on Thursday April 15, 2010.

Chunks of ice from a glacial flood triggered by a volcanic eruption lie in front of the still-erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokul on April 17, 2010.






Ash covers vegetation in Eyjafjallasveit, southern Iceland April 17, 2010.

This aerial photo shows the Eyjafjallajokull volcano billowing smoke and ash on April 17, 2010.

A woman stands near a waterfall that has been dirtied by ash that has accumulated from the plume of an erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland on April 18, 2010.

Horses fight near the town of Sulfoss, Iceland as a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull erupts on April 17, 2010.

Farmer Thorarinn Olafsson tries to lure his horse back to the stable as a cloud of black ash looms overhead in Drangshlid at Eyjafjoll on April 17, 2010.

A small plane (upper left) flies past smoke and ash billowing from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul, Iceland on April 17, 2010.

Smoke billows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull on April 16, 2010.

The sun sets in a sky dusted with ash, over Lake Geneva, as seen from the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, a UNESCO site in Switzerland, on April 17, 2010.

The volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Farmers team up to rescue cattle from exposure to the toxic volcanic ash at a farm in Nupur, Iceland, as the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010.

A rescue team helps landowners to clear volcanic ash from a roof in Seljavellir, Iceland on April 18, 2010.

Sheep farmer Thorkell Eiriksson (R) and his brother-in-law Petur Runottsson work to seal a sheep barn, in case winds shift and ash from a volcano erupting across the valley lands on their farm, in Eyjafjallajokull April 17, 2010. The current season is when the spring lambs are born and such young animals are especially susceptible to volcanic ash in their lungs so they must be stored inside.

A dark ash cloud looms over the Icelandic south coast April 17, 2010.

Lightning, smoke and lava above Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano on April 17, 2010.

View seen from a road leading to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010.

A man runs along the roadside, taking pictures of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010.

A huge ash cloud creeps over the Icelandic south coast April 16, 2010.

Wearing a mask and goggles to protect against the smoke, dairy farmer Berglind Hilmarsdottir from Nupur, Iceland, looks for cattle lost in ash clouds, Saturday, April 17, 2010.

A farmer checks muddy volcanic ash on his land in Iceland on April 18, 2010.

This aerial image shows the crater spewing ash and plumes of grit at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010

A pilot takes pictures of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano billowing smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010.

Construction crews repair a road damaged by floods from glacial melting caused by a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland April 17, 2010.

Horses graze in a field near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow dark smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010.

Ingi Sveinbjoernsso leads his horses on a road covered volcanic ash back to his barn in Yzta-baeli, Iceland on April 18, 2010. They come galloping out of the volcanic storm, hooves muffled in the ash, manes flying. 24 hours earlier he had lost the shaggy Icelandic horses in an ash cloud that turned day into night, blanketing the landscape in sticky gray mud.

The ash plume of southwestern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano streams southwards over the Northern Atlantic Ocean in a satellite photograph made April 17, 2010. The erupting volcano in Iceland sent new tremors on April 19, but the ash plume which has caused air traffic chaos across Europe has dropped to a height of about 2 km (1.2 mi), the Meteorological Office said.




A woman makes a phone call in the empty arrival hall of Prague's Ruzyne Airport after all flights were grounded due to volcanic ash in the skies coming from Iceland April 18, 2010. Air travel across much of Europe was paralyzed for a fourth day on Sunday by a huge cloud of volcanic ash, but Dutch and German test flights carried out without apparent damage seemed to offer hope of respite.

Lava and lightning light the crater of Eyjafjallajokul volcano on April 17, 2010.

The first of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur at a distance 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. Lightning and motion-blurred ash appear in this 15-second exposure.

The second of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. The ash plume is lit from within by multiple flashes of lightning in this 168 second exposure.

The third of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur Iceland on April 18th, 2010. Lightning flashes and glowing lava illuminate parts of Eyjafjallajokull's massive ash plume in this 30-second exposure.




Smoke billows from an erupting volcano which seems to be close to the top of the Eyjafjalla glacier on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik. All London flights, including those from Heathrow, will be suspended from noon (1100 GMT) today due to volcanic ash from Iceland that has already caused almost 300 cancellations here, officials said.

An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows flood caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. The volcanic eruption on Wednesday partially melted a glacier, setting off a major flood that threatened to damage roads and bridges and forcing hundreds to evacuate from a thinly populated area. Picture taken April 14, 2010.

Melting ice caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010.

Photo taken on April 14, 2010 the Markarfljot glacial river, west of the Eyjafjalla glacier. Iceland's second volcano eruption in less than a month melted part of a glacier and caused heavy flooding on April 14, forcing up to 800 people to evacuate and grounding some flights over Norway.

Flooding caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010.

A man takes a picture of a road that has been washed away by flood water following the melting of the Eyjafjalla glacier due to the eruption of a volcano on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik.

n this Wednesday April 14, 2010 photograph, smoke and steam are seen rising from the volcano under the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland, which erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.

A natural-color satellite image shows lava fountains, lava flows, a volcanic plume, and steam from vaporized snow. The image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The lava fountains are orange-red, barely visible at the 10-meter (33-foot) resolution of the satellite. The scoria cones surrounding the fissure are black, as is the lava flow extending to the northeast. White volcanic gases escape from the vent and erupting lava, while a steam plume rises where the hot lava meets snow. (The bright green color along the edge of the lava flow is an artifact of the sensor.)

This picture taken on March 27, 2010 shows lava spurting out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano some 125 km east of Reykjavik. With lava still gushing, a small Icelandic volcano that initially sent hundreds fleeing from their homes is turning into a boon for the island nation's tourism industry, as visitors flock to catch a glimpse of the eruption.

Tourists gather to watch lava spurt out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on March 27, 2010. Up to 800 people were evacuated in Iceland early on April 14, 2010 due to a volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in the south of the island, police and geophysicists said.

People gather to watch lava flow at the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano near the Eyjafjalla glacier on March 27, 2010.

Heat shimmers above lava flowing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland on March 28th, 2010.

Lava spews out of a mountain on March 21, 2010 in the region of the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland.

Lava spurts out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano near the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland on March 27, 2010.

Smoke and steam hang over the volcano under the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland, early Thursday April 15, 2010.

Lava spews out of a mountain on March 21, 2010 in Hvolsvöllur in the region of the Eyjafjalla glacier in Iceland.

Steam and hot gases rise above lava flowing from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on April 3rd, 2010.

This image made available by NEODASS/University of Dundee shows the volcanic ash plume from Iceland, top left, to the north of Britain at received by NASA's Terra Satellite at 11.39 GMT Thursday April 15, 2010.