Katla volcano: scientists warn that a huge Icelandic volcano is about to explode and that the 2010 ash cloud could even be dwarf

Scientists have warned that a huge Icelandic volcano is about to burst, eclipsing the explosion that disrupted air travel around the world eight years ago.

Katla, described as "highly dangerous", released a huge amount of carbon dioxide – a clear indication that her magmatic chambers are filling up quickly.

Researchers believe that its eruption could eclipse that of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 – which has caused a giant ash cloud that has rooted all European air travel.

Thousands of passengers were stranded as the ashes dispersed over Europe, causing new disruptions around the world.

According to scientists, Katla, who is Icelandic for "kettle", could produce an ash plume three times bigger than the much smaller Eyjafjallajokull.

Sarah Barsotti of the Icelandic Weather Bureau told The Sunday Times: "There is no way of saying when it will burst, but it will be."

She stated that the level of disturbance will depend on "the intensity of the eruption and the direction of the winds at that time".

A report from researchers at the University of Leeds, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, revealed that Katla was late. The last eruption took place in 1918, having already done about every 50 years.

Research has also revealed that Katla distributes between 12 and 24 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide each day, an amount improved by only two volcanoes in the world.

In the paper, the team wrote: "Thanks to high-precision airborne measurements and atmospheric dispersion modeling, we show that Katla, a highly dangerous subglacial volcano that erupted 100 years ago, is one of the most the largest volcanic sources of CO2. up to five percent of total global volcanic emissions.

Evgenia Ilyinskaya, a research fellow at the Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics at the University of Leeds, told the Icelandic TV channel RUV that the amount of CO2 indicates "something is happening".

She said: "There must also be an accumulation of magma to release this amount of gas.

"It's a clear sign that we have to watch Katla closely. It does nothing, and these results confirm that something is happening. "

However, Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, said further studies were needed to determine the risk of eruption.

On his department's Facebook page, he argued that it was too early to say whether CO2 emissions were a direct indicator of an impending explosion.