Eruption of the Nabro volcano in Eritrea
FY-2E 0.73 µm visible channel images (click image to play animation)
The Nabro volcano erupted in the northeast Africa country of Eritrea on 12 June 2011. An oblique view using the Chinese FY-2E satellite (positioned over the Equator at 105º East longitude) 0.73 µm visible channel data (above; click image to play animation) showed the volcanic plume streaming northwestward on 13 June (the Nabro volcano is located near the bottom center of the images. Note that the plume became much brighter on the visible images later in the day, due to forward scattering.
A sequence of EUMETSAT Meteosat-9 7.35 µm “water vapor channel” images (below; click image to play animation) was useful for following the leading edge of the volcanic plume (the volcano summit is circled on the first few images of the animation). The plume moved northward over far northeastern Africa, and eventually curved anticyclonically and passed over the northern Arabian Peninsula on 14 June. It then appeared as if the leading edge of the volcanic plume might have eventually become entrained into a conveyor of isentropic ascent, where moisture began to increase (exhibiting a darker blue color on the water vapor images).
Meteosat-9 7.35 µm water vapor channel images (click image to play animation)