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Eruption of Popocatépetl in Mexico

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Split Window (10.3 – 12.3 µm), Ash RGB, Dust RGB and SO2 RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

A sequence of GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Split Window (10.3 – 12.3 µm), Ash RGB, Dust RGB and SO2 RGB images (above) revealed signatures of volcanic plumes from an eruption of Popocatépetl on 02 October 2019. According to the Volcanic Ash Advisory issued at 1323 UTC (below), the longer plume moving westward — which was clearly seen in the Visible imagery — extended to an altitude of 21,000 feet. The second volcanic plume moving northwestward — which exhibited subtle signatures in the Split Window and RGB images — extended to an altitude of 24,000 feet. Although neither the Split Window nor the RGB images showed strong volcanic cloud signatures, taken together they helped to confirm the presence and transport of the 2 separate plumes.

GOES-16 Split Window image with the text of the 1323 UTC Volcanic Ash Advisory [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 Split Window (10.3 – 12.3 µm) image showing the text of the 1323 UTC Volcanic Ash Advisory [click to enlarge]

The radiometrically-retrieved Volcanic Ash Height product from the NOAA/CIMSS Volcanic Cloud Monitoring site indicated a maximum height in the 5-7 km range for the westward-moving plume (below).

GOES-16 Volcanic Ash Height product [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Volcanic Ash Height product [click to play animation | MP4]

Categories: GOES-16, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Volcanic activity