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Eruption of Mount Shishaldin in Alaska

By Scott Bachmeier •

Following two days of increasing seismicity, Mount Shishaldin began a period of more intense eruptive activity around 0930 UTC on 19 January 2020 — a comparison of topography along with Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1323 UTC (above) displayed a distinct thermal... Read More

Topography along with Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1323 UTC [click to enlarge]

Topography along with Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1323 UTC [click to enlarge]

Following two days of increasing seismicity, Mount Shishaldin began a period of more intense eruptive activity around 0930 UTC on 19 January 2020 — a comparison of topography along with Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1323 UTC (above) displayed a distinct thermal anomaly (cluster of red 3.74 µm pixels) and a volcanic cloud moving east-southeastward.

Comparisons of Shortwave Infrared and Infrared Window images from Suomi NPP VIIRS and GOES-17 ABI (below) revealed a parallax shift that is inherent with geostationary imagery at high latitudes.

Comparison of Shortwave Infrared images from Suomi NPP VIIRS (3.74 um) and GOES-17 ABI (3.9 um) [click to enlarge]

Comparison of Shortwave Infrared images from Suomi NPP VIIRS (3.74 µm) and GOES-17 ABI (3.9 µm) [click to enlarge]

Comparison of Infrared Window images from Suomi NPP VIIRS (11.45 µm) and GOES-17 ABI (10.35 µm) [click to enlarge]

Comparison of Infrared Window images from Suomi NPP VIIRS (11.45 µm) and GOES-17 ABI (10.35 µm) [click to enlarge]

A toggle between GOES-17 parallax correction vectors and magnitudes for cloud top heights of 15,000 feet (4.5 km) and 30,000 feet (9.1 km) are shown below —  the amount of northwestward volcanic cloud displacement between the Suomi NPP and GOES-17 Infrared images roughly matched the 16 km (or 10 mile) value for a 15,000 foot cloud top in that region of the Full Disk. Later advisories listed the maximum ash height at 20,000-30,0000 feet.

GOES-17 parallax correction vectors (green) and magnitudes (km, red) [click to enlarge]

GOES-17 parallax correction vectors (green) and magnitudes (km, red) [click to enlarge]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) Split Cloud Top Phase (11.2 – 8.4 µm) images (below) displayed an increasing volcanic ash signal (negative values, darker blue to violet enhancement) beginning around 01 UTC on 20 January. Some light ash fall was reported at False Pass, Alaska.

GOES-17 Split Cloud Top Phase (11.2 - 8.4 um) images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 Split Cloud Top Phase (11.2 – 8.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

10-minute images of GOES-17 radiometrially retreived Ash Height from the NOAA/CIMSS Volcanic Cloud monitoring site (below) indicated that the bulk of the ash plume existed within the 2-6 km altitude range.

GOES-17 Ash Height product [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 Ash Height product [click to play animation | MP4]

In corresponding GOES-17 False Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images (below), the volcanic plume exhibited shades of red/magenta/pink — the characteristic signature of an ash-laden cloud.

GOES-17 False Color RGB [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 False Color RGB [click to play animation | MP4]

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Tropical Cyclone Tino in the South Pacific Ocean

By Scott Bachmeier •

JMA Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed the development of Tropical Cyclone Tino in the South Pacific Ocean on 16 January 2020. Tino was moving southeast toward the island nation of Fiji. Convection around the tropical cyclone exhibited extensive cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures (IRBTs) of -90ºC and colder (shades... Read More

Himawari-8

Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

JMA Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed the development of Tropical Cyclone Tino in the South Pacific Ocean on 16 January 2020. Tino was moving southeast toward the island nation of Fiji. Convection around the tropical cyclone exhibited extensive cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures (IRBTs) of -90ºC and colder (shades of yellow embedded within the dark purple enhancement), including a few red -100ºC pixels at 1630 UTC.

Plots of rawinsonde data from Fiji (below) showed a tropopause around 100 hPa, where the temperature was around -85ºC — so the tropical overshooting tops with IRBTs in the -90 to -100ºC range were extending into the stratosphere.

Plots of rawinsonde data from Fiji [click to enlarge]

Plots of rawinsonde data from Nandi, Fiji [click to enlarge]

Plots of deep-layer wind shear from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) indicated that Tino gradually intensified within a narrow zone of light shear.

Plots of deep-layer wind shear [click to enlarge]

Plots of deep-layer wind shear [click to enlarge]

===== 17 January Update =====

GOES-17

GOES-17 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

A GOES-17 (GOES-West) Mesoscale Domain Sector was positioned over Tropical Cyclone Tino on 17 January, providing images at 1-minute intervals — “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed the continued development of convective bursts, which at times exhibited IRBT values as cold as -100ºC (red pixels on the coldest portion of the enhancement).

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Eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines

By Scott Bachmeier •

The Taal Volcano erupted in the Philippines around 0850 UTC on 12 January 2020. JMA Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) displayed the volcanic cloud during the initial 3 hours post-eruption. Note the presence of a pronounced “warm wake” (red enhancement) downwind (north) of... Read More

Himawari-8

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm, right) images [click to play animation | MP4]

The Taal Volcano erupted in the Philippines around 0850 UTC on 12 January 2020. JMA Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) displayed the volcanic cloud during the initial 3 hours post-eruption. Note the presence of a pronounced “warm wake” (red enhancement) downwind (north) of the summit of Taal — this appeared to be an Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume (AACP), as seen in a toggle between the Visible and Infrared images at 1910 UTC (below).

Himawari-8 "Red" Visible (0.64 µm) and "Clean" Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images at 1910 UTC [click to enlarge]

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images at 1910 UTC [click to enlarge]

The warmest Himawari-8 10.4 µm brightness temperatures within the Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume were around -60ºC (red enhancement), which corresponded to approximately 21 km on data from 3 rawinsonde sites in the Philippines (Legaspi, Mactan and Laoag) (below).

Plots of rawinsonde data from Legaspi, Mactan and Laoag in the Philippines [click to enlarge]

Plots of rawinsonde data from Legaspi, Mactan and Laoag in the Philippines [click to enlarge]

The TROPOMI detected SO2 at altitude of 20km on 13 January:


A longer animation of Himawari-8 Infrared imagery revealed the intermittent presence of the warm wake feature until about 1400 UTC. The coldest 10.4 µm cloud-top brightness temperature was -89.7ºC.

Himawari-8 "Clean" Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

A large-scale view of Himawari-8 Infrared images (below) showed that the volcanic cloud was advected a great distance north-northeastward.

Himawari-8 "Clean" Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

A toggle between NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images (below) showed the volcanic cloud at 1649 UTC.

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1648 UTC (credit: William Straka, CIMSS) [click to enlarge]

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1648 UTC (credit: William Straka, CIMSS) [click to enlarge]

In a sequence of Split Window Difference (11-12 µm) images (Terra MODIS, NOAA-20 VIIRS and Suomi NPP VIIRS) from the NOAA/CIMSS Volcanic Cloud Monitoring site (below), there was only a subtle ash signature (blue enhancement) immediately downwind of the Taal summit — due to the large amount of ice within the upper portion of the volcanic cloud, the infrared spectral ash signature was significantly masked.

Split Window Difference (11-12 um) images from Terra MODIS, NOAA-20 VIIRS and Suomi NPP VIIRS [click to enlarge]

Split Window Difference (11-12 µm) images from Terra MODIS, NOAA-20 VIIRS and Suomi NPP VIIRS [click to enlarge]

Of interest was the fact that Manila International Airport (RPLL) reported a thunderstorm at 15 UTC — there was a large amount of lightning produced by Taal’s volcanic cloud.

===== 14 January Update =====

GOES-17 SO2 RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 SO2 RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

2 days after the eruption, the leading edge of Taal’s SO2-rich volcanic plume (brighter shades of yellow over areas of cold clouds) began to appear within the far western view of GOES-17 (GOES-West) Full Disk SO2 Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images (above), about 1000 miles southeast of Japan. There were also some thin filaments of SO2 (brighter shades of white over warm ocean areas) moving southward, about 1500 miles west of Hawai’i.

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Exploring the effect of parallax

By Scott Bachmeier •

Overlapping 1-minute GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mesoscale Domain Sectors provided images at 30-second intervals over the Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma/Arkansas area on 10 January 2019 — and “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) included plots of SPC Storm Reports (with and without parallax correction) during the time period which produced the first 2 tornadoes (1 in southwestern Missouri, and 1 in northeastern... Read More

GOES-16 "Red" Visible (0.64 µm) images, including plot of SPC Storm Reports (with and without parallax correction) [click to play animation]

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images, including plot of SPC Storm Reports (with and without parallax correction) [click to play animation]

Overlapping 1-minute GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mesoscale Domain Sectors provided images at 30-second intervals over the Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma/Arkansas area on 10 January 2019 — and “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) included plots of SPC Storm Reports (with and without parallax correction) during the time period which produced the first 2 tornadoes (1 in southwestern Missouri, and 1 in northeastern Oklahoma) of a large-scale severe weather outbreak that continued into the subsequent nighttime hours and the following day.

The GOES-16 Visible images for the times corresponding to the 2 tornado reports (below) include “parallax-corrected” — shifted upward to match a 13 km cloud top, the Maximum Parcel Level calculated from the 18 UTC Springfield, Missouri sounding — and actual surface locations for each report. For the Oklahoma tornado report, the parallax-corrected location more closely matches the location of overshooting tops; for the Missouri tornado report, the parallax-corrected location more closely matches the location where a cluster of overshooting tops had passed several minutes earlier.

GOES-16 "Red" Visible (0.64 µm) image at 2030 UTC, including plot of SPC Storm Reports (with and without parallax correction) [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) image at 2030 UTC, including a Tornado report in Missouri (with and without parallax correction) [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 "Red" Visible (0.64 µm) image at 2051 UTC, including plot of Tornado report (with and without parallax correction) [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) image at 2051 UTC, including a Tornado report in Oklahoma (with and without parallax correction) [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 parallax direction vectors and magnitude (km) for a cloud top feature at 50,000 feet (or 15.2 km) are shown below for select locations across the GOES-16 CONUS domain — a webapp that displays a current infrared image with user-selectable cloud heights is available here. Circled is a vector and magnitude in an area close to that shown in the images above.  Note: the length of the vectors does not correspond to the actual distance of parallax correction.

GOES-16 parallax direction vectors and magnitude (km) for a cloud top feature at 15 km [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 parallax direction vectors and magnitude (km) for a cloud top feature at 50,000 feet (15.2 km) [click to enlarge]

Similar webapps are available for the GOES-16 Full Disk, GOES-17 CONUS and GOES-17 Full Disk sectors.

GOES-17 parallax correction direction vectors and magnitude (km) for a cloud top feature at 50,000 feet (15.2 km) [click to enlarge]

GOES-17 parallax direction vectors and magnitude (km) for a cloud top feature at 50,000 feet (15.2 km) [click to enlarge]

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