Volcano observatory functionality in Iceland was prior to the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption partially joint funded by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)[3] The initial June 2010 meeting of the International Volcanic Ash Task Force (IVATF), created by the ICAO after the eruption, had a working paper on improvement of volcanic monitoring and advice presented by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories that recommended increased support for the volcano observatories of the world.
[4] Seed funding originally came from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2010,[1] for what was projected as a 3-year project to collate relevant knowledge and create a comprehensive catalogue readily available to decision makers, stakeholders and the general public.
[8] The web site was showcased in April 2015 to praise and a beta version launched later that year with data on Bárðarbunga, Grímsvötn, Hekla and Katla.
[12][13] In 2024 the two websites were recognised in a peer-reviewed academic paper on tephra dispersion as important resources for modelling this.
[14] As of 2024[update], of the two similar websites, only the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes has an additional data portal functionality.