Eruption of the Mount Cleveland volcano in Alaska
MODIS volcanic ash mass loading, ash height, and ash effective radius products
According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the Mount Cleveland volcano erupted around 22:05 UTC on 19 June 2012 (volcanic activity notice). A comparison of AWIPS images of the MODIS volcanic ash mass loading, ash height, and ash effective radius products (above) showed the volcanic ash plume about 1 hour and 40 minutes later (23:44 UTC). The products indicated that the mass loading was as high as 5.1 tons per square km, the maximum ash height was 7.92 km, and the maximum ash effective radius was 11.95 µm.
A comparison of a 23:43 UTC POES AVHRR 0.86 µm visible image with the corresponding 12.0 µm IR image (below) showed no discernable signal of the volcanic ash plume.
POES AVHRR 0.86 µm visible channel image + 12.0 µm IR channel image
A 375-meter resolution Suomi NPP VIIRS 3.74 µm shortwave IR image (below) revealed a “hot spot” (yellow to red color enhancement) associated with the Mount Cleveland volcanic eruption. The maximum IR brightness temerature within the volcanic hot spot was 337.46 K or 64.31º C.
Suomi NPP VIIRS 3.74 µm shortwave IR image