June 19, 2016 - Eruption of Bristol Island volcano, South Sandwich Islands

Eruption of Bristol Island volcano, South Sandwich Islands

Streaks of volcanic ash streaming from Mount Sourabaya on Bristol Island gave clear evidence that the eruption that started in late April continued through mid-June 2016.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on June 16. Black lines have been overlain on the image to outline the nearly square shaped Bristol Island. A brownish streak rises from the island and blows to the northeast, appearing to mix with the cloud cover.

The Mount Sourabaya stratovolcano sits on an island measuring no more than 7 by 8.5 miles (12 km by 14 km) in an extremely remote location - the South Sandwich Islands in the far South Atlantic Ocean between Antarctica and South America. Due to the remote location and near-constant cloud cover, it is one of the least-studied volcanoes on Earth.

NASA satellites captured the first signs of the volcanic eruption on April 24, images which showed both ash plumes and heat signatures typical of an active eruption - the first known activity at this volcano since 1956. According to Volcano Discovery, activity has continued through June 18 but seems to have lost energy during the last week, as the ash plumes have begun become thinner and less intense.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/12/2016
Resolutions: 1km (190.9 KB), 500m (643.6 KB), 250m (1.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC