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Eruption of Kambalny volcano in Kamchatka, Russia

By Scott Bachmeier •

Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [Click to play animation]

Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [Click to play animation]

The Kambalny volcano in far southern Kamchatka, Russia erupted around 2120 UTC on 24 March 2017. A Himawari-8 “Target Sector” was positioned over that region — providing rapid-scan (2.5-minute interval) imagery — as seen in a 2-panel comparison of AHI Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.4 µm) data covering the first 7 hours of the eruption (above). Ash plume infrared brightness temperatures quickly became -40ºC and colder (bright green enhancement).

Himarari-8 false-color RGB images [click to play animation]

Himarari-8 false-color RGB images [Click to play animation]

Himawari-8 false-color Red/Green/Blue (RGB) images from the NOAA/CIMSS Volcanic Cloud Monitoring site (above) showed the ash plume drifting south-southwestward during the subsequent nighttime hours. It is interesting to note the formation and subsequent northwestward motion of numerous contrails (darker green linear features) across the region, due to the close proximity of a major Tokyo flight corridor.

True-color RGB images from Terra MODIS, Suomi NPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS, viewed using RealEarth (below) revealed the long ash plume during the late morning and early afternoon on 25 March. The dark signature of ash fall onto the snow-covered terrain was evident on the Terra and Aqua images, just west of the high-altitude ash plume.

Terra MODIS, Suomi NPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS true-color RGB images [Click to enlarge]

Terra MODIS, Suomi NPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS true-color RGB images [Click to enlarge]

26 March Update: a closer view of Terra MODIS true-color images from 25 and 26 March (below) showed that the perimeter of the darker gray surface ash fall signature had fanned out in both the west and east directions.

Terra MODIS truecolor RGB images from 25 and 26 March, with arrows indicating the perimeter of surface ash fall signatures on each day [Click to enlarge]

Terra MODIS truecolor RGB images from 25 and 26 March, with arrows indicating the perimeter of surface ash fall signatures on each day [Click to enlarge]

Categories: Aqua, Aviation, Himawari-8, MODIS, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Suomi NPP, VIIRS, Volcanic activity