Eruption of the Mount Pavlof volcano in Alaska
A major eruption of the Mount Pavlof volcano on the Alaska Peninsula began shortly before 0000 UTC on 28 March, or 4:00 pm on 27 March Alaska time (AVO report), as detected by a thermal anomaly (or “hot spot”, yellow to red color enhancement) on Himawari-8 AHI Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above). The hot spot decreased in size and intensity toward the later hours of the day, signaling a lull in the volcanic eruption.It is interesting to note on a comparison of the 0000 UTC Himawari-8 and GOES-15 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 um) images the large difference in the magnitude of the thermal anomaly — even though the viewing angle was larger for Himawari-8, the superior spatial resolution (2 km at nadir, compared to 4 km with GOES-15) detected a hot spot with an Infrared Brightness Temperature (IR BT) that was 36.6 K warmer (below). The Infrared channels on the GOES-R ABI instrument will also have a 2 km spatial resolution.
Himawari-8 AHI (left) and GOES-15 Imager (right) 3.9 µm Shortwave Infrared images [click to enlarge]
With the aid of reflected light from the Moon (in the Waxing Gibbous phase, at 75% of Full), a nighttime view using the Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) from the SSEC RealEarth site (below) revealed the bright glow of the eruption, along with the darker (compared to adjacent meteorological clouds) volcanic ash cloud streaming northeastward. The corresponding VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) image showed the dark black hot spot of the volcano summit.
The volcanic ash cloud continued moving in a northeastward direction, as seen in a sequence of GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) and either Terra/Aqua MODIS or Suomi NPP VIIRS retrieved Volcanic Ash Height products from the NOAA/CIMSS Volcanic Could Monitoring site (below).![GOES-15 Infrared (10.7 µm) images, with Terra/Aqua MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS Ash Height products [click to play animation]](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/SNPP.VIIRS.2016-03-28_11-43-60.Ash_Height.Alaskan_Peninsula_750_m.png)
GOES-15 Infrared (10.7 µm) images, with Terra/Aqua MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS Ash Height products [click to play animation]
A few select Pilot reports (PIREPs) are shown below, plotted on GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) and Aqua MODIS Ash Height derived products. Numerous flights were canceled as the ash cloud eventually began to drift over Western and Interior Alaska (media report).
![GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 um) image, with METAR surface reports and Pilot reports [click to enlarge]](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/160328_0000utc_goes15_ir_Pavlof_pirep.png)
GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) image, with METAR surface reports and Pilot reports [click to enlarge]
![GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 um) image, with METAR surface reports and Pilot reports [click to enlarge]](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/160328_0100utc_goes15_ir_Pavlof_pirep.png)
GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) image, with METAR surface reports and Pilot reports [click to enlarge]
![GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 um) image, with METAR surface reports and Pilot reports [click to enlarge]](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/160328_0300utc_goes15_ir_Pavlof_pirep.png)
GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) image, with METAR surface reports and Pilot reports [click to enlarge]
![Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm), Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), and true-color RGB images [click to enlarge]](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/160328_2131utc_snpp_viirs_swir_dnb_truecolor_Pavlof_AK_anim.gif)
Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm), Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), and true-color RGB images [click to enlarge]