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February 4, 2011 - Ash plume from Shinmoe-dake, Kirishima complex, Japan
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At 12:17 p.m. local time on February 3, 2011, Japan’s Shinmoe-dake volcano sent a towering cloud of ash 2.5 kilometers into the atmosphere. The ash plume stretched more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of the peak when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) took this image from the Aqua satellite at 1:30 p.m. local time. The image also shows a faint plume of ash and steam rising from Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, to the south of Shinmoe-dake.
Located on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, Shinmoe-dake is one of a large group of volcanoes in the Kirishima complex. Though the volcano has been bursting forth with small, intermittent ash plumes since March 2010, it began to erupt spectacularly on January 26, 2011. The explosive eruptions on January 26–27 scattered tephra as far as 8 kilometers (5 miles) away, causing disruptions in airplane and train service. On January 29, scientists observed a new lava dome in the volcano’s crater.
Tephra is a general term for fragments of any size of volcanic rock and lava which are blasted into the air by explosions, or are lifted upward by hot gases in eruption columns or lava fountains. These fragments include dense, large blocks and bombs as well as light rock debris and ash. As the distance from the volcano increases the average size of the tephra particle decreases, and the deposit becomes thinner. Because the particulate size is so small and so light, volcanic ash can be carried vast distances on the wind before settling to the ground.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/3/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
At 12:17 p.m. local time on February 3, 2011, Japan’s Shinmoe-dake volcano sent a towering cloud of ash 2.5 kilometers into the atmosphere. The ash plume stretched more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of the peak when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) took this image from the Aqua satellite at 1:30 p.m. local time. The image also shows a faint plume of ash and steam rising from Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, to the south of Shinmoe-dake.
Located on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, Shinmoe-dake is one of a large group of volcanoes in the Kirishima complex. Though the volcano has been bursting forth with small, intermittent ash plumes since March 2010, it began to erupt spectacularly on January 26, 2011. The explosive eruptions on January 26–27 scattered tephra as far as 8 kilometers (5 miles) away, causing disruptions in airplane and train service. On January 29, scientists observed a new lava dome in the volcano’s crater.
Tephra is a general term for fragments of any size of volcanic rock and lava which are blasted into the air by explosions, or are lifted upward by hot gases in eruption columns or lava fountains. These fragments include dense, large blocks and bombs as well as light rock debris and ash. As the distance from the volcano increases the average size of the tephra particle decreases, and the deposit becomes thinner. Because the particulate size is so small and so light, volcanic ash can be carried vast distances on the wind before settling to the ground.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/3/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
