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Explosive eruption of Mount Shishaldin in Alaska

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-18 SO2 RGB and Ash RGB images, with plots of Pilot Reports and Volcanic Ash Advisory/Forecast polygons [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

GOES-18 (GOES-West) SO2 RGB and Ash RGB images (above) showed the east-southeastward drift of a volcanic cloud produced by an explosive eruption of Mount Shishaldin that began shortly before 1600 UTC on 05 September 2023. The initial volcanic cloud exhibited pale shades of yellow in both RGB types, suggesting a mixture of SO2 and Ash; after 1900 UTC, the trailing edge of the volcanic cloud exhibited brighter shades of pink in the Ash RGB (indicating higher concentrations of ash).

A Pilot Report issued at 1642 UTC (below) highlighted a volcanic cloud extending to an altitude of 25000 feet. The initial Volcanic Ash Advisory and Forecast advised of ash between the surface and 32000 feet. A Special Marine Statement mentioned the possibility of ash fall to the southeast of Umiak Island.

GOES-18 Ash RGB image at 1640utc, with cursor sampling of a 1642 UTC Pilot Report [click to enlarge]

GOES-18 True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (below) helped to highlight the ash-rich volcanic cloud (shades of tan to brown) moving east-southeast from the summit of Shishaldin.

GOES-18 Nighttime Microphysics RGB and daytime True Color RGB images [click to play MP4 animation]

Categories: Aviation, GOES-18, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Volcanic activity