Volcanic activity « CIMSS Satellite Blog

Volcanic ash plume from Popocatépetl in central Mexico

April 18th, 2012

GOES-15 (left), GOES-12 (center), and GOES-13 (right) visible channel images (click image to play animation)

A small volcanic ash plume from Popocatépetl in central Mexico was seen streaming east-southeastward on GOES-15 (GOES-West), GOES-12, and GOES-13 (GOES-East) visible channel images (above; click image to play animation) during the early morning hours on 18 April 2012. Satellite imagery over this particular region is available every 15 minutes on a routine basis from GOES-13, but only every 30 minutes from GOES-15 and every 3 hours from GOES-12.

According to the advisory issued by the Washington VAAC (below), the volcanic ash was extending upward to an altitude of around 23,000 feet.

Washington VAAC advisory

Posted in GOES-12, GOES-13, GOES-15, Volcanic activity | No Comments »

Eruption of the Nabro volcano in Eritrea

June 14th, 2011

FY-2E 0.73 µm visible channel images (click image to play animation)

The Nabro volcano erupted in the northeast Africa country of Eritrea on 12 June 2011. An oblique view using the Chinese FY-2E satellite (positioned over the Equator at 105º East longitude) 0.73 µm visible channel data (above; click image to play animation) showed the volcanic plume streaming northwestward on 13 June (the Nabro volcano is located near the bottom center of the images. Note that the plume became much brighter on the visible images later in the day, due to forward scattering.

A sequence of EUMETSAT Meteosat-9 7.35 µm “water vapor channel” images (below; click image to play animation) was useful for following the leading edge of the volcanic plume (the volcano summit is circled on the first few images of the animation). The plume moved northward over far northeastern Africa, and eventually curved anticyclonically and passed over the northern Arabian Peninsula on 14 June. It then appeared as if the leading edge of the volcanic plume might have eventually become entrained into a conveyor of isentropic ascent, where moisture began to increase (exhibiting a darker blue color on the water vapor images).

Meteosat-9 7.35 µm water vapor channel images (click image to play animation)

Posted in Meteosat, Volcanic activity | No Comments »

Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic eruption in Chile

June 5th, 2011

GOES-12 0.65 µm visible channel images

An explosive eruption of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano in Chile occurred on 04 June 2011. GOES-12 0.65 µm visible channel images (above) showed a darker gray ash cloud punching above the meteorological cloud deck around 18:15 UTC, with the ash cloud quickly spreading southeastward and moving over Bariloche, Argentina (station identifier SAZS).

A comparison of GOES-12 3.9 µm shortwave IR and 10.7 µm IR window channel images (below) revealed a pronounced and persistent “hot spot” signature (dark black pixels) at the summit of the volcano on the shortwave IR images — while the long and narrow cold high-altitude volcanic cloud (exhibiting IR brightness temperatures around -60º C, darker red color enhancement) could be seen spreading southeastward for a great distance on the IR window images.

GOES-12 3.9 µm shortwave IR (top) and 10.7 µm IR window (bottom) images

CIMSS activities in the GOES-R Proving Ground include the generation of real-time volcanic ash retrieval products (using Meteosat SEVIRI data as a proxy for GOES-R data), which showed a significant volcanic ash plume emerging over the Atlantic Ocean (below).