Volcanic ash plume from Sarychev Peak eruption
GOES-11 "split window" IR difference product (10.7 - 12.0 µm)
A series of volcanic eruptions from Sarychev Peak (located in the central Kiril Islands) began on 10-11 June 2009, and GOES-11 “split window” IR difference images (above) showed a good signature of one of the ash plumes (yellow to cyan color enhancement) as it began to move eastward across the North Pacific Ocean on 16 June 2009.
AWIPS images of the MTSAT + GOES-11 IR channel with overlays of the MTSAT high density winds (below) showed the high-altitude flow that was helping the volcanic ash plume features to move southeastward around 40-60 knots (according to the Volcanic Ash Advisories that were issued on 16 June).
GOES-11 is the last of the current GOES series to have the 12.0 µm IR channel on the imager instrument package, which allows the calculation of such a “split window” IR difference product for volcanic ash detection. Once GOES-11 is replaced by either GOES-13 or GOES-14 as the operational GOES-West satellite, the geostationary volcanic ash detection ability will be greatly diminished over the eastern North Pacific Ocean…until the launch of the Advanced Baseline Imagery (ABI) on the GOES-R satellite.
MTSAT + GOES-11 IR images, MTSAT high density winds