The MODIS on NASAs Aqua satellite acquired the image on October 1, 2021.
The uncommonly warm air above– a temperature level inversion– operated like a cover, preventing the volcanic plume from rising any greater. Rather, it flattened out and spread out horizontally.
October 4, 2021
As the Cumbre Vieja eruption continued into its second week, satellites caught images of some impressive minutes in the skies above the volcano.
Considering that the Cumbre Vieja volcano began emerging on September 19, 2021, the majority of the compelling activity has actually taken place on the ground. For nearly two weeks, thick sheets of lava burned through farmland, roads, and houses on the southwestern part of La Palma, among the Canary Islands.
The climatic results of the eruption had been less remarkable until the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute (INVOLCAN) reported an boost in explosive activity that began on October 2. In the midst of the raised activity, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite captured an image (above) of a thick plume of ash streaming south on October 4, 2021 According to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, the plume reached 3 kilometers (2 miles) on October 4, posing a hazard to aircraft in the location. Despite the increase in activity, volcanologists still rank Cumbre Viejas explosivity as “moderate”– a 2 out of 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. The eruption has not been energetic enough to inject big amounts of ash and gases into the stratosphere, where they can have enduring and strong impacts on weather and environment. It has actually been strong enough to produce a increasing column of emissions that helped form the amazing pattern in the clouds revealed in the image listed below. The MODIS on NASAs Aqua satellite acquired the image on October 1, 2021.
October 1, 2021.
The abnormally warm air above– a temperature level inversion– operated like a lid, preventing the volcanic plume from rising any greater. Instead, it flattened out and spread horizontally.
Given that volcanic eruptions typically have natural ups and downs in their intensity, pulses in the upward flow of the volcanic column created concentric gravity waves as they struck the temperature level inversion and spread external. The process resembles the way a stone dropped in a pond develops ripples that spread out external.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.