November 7, 2021
The nearly 1,000-meter-tall volcano in the South Sandwich Islands regularly finds a way to place on a show.
For satellites looking down from space, the mountain is typically obscured by clouds. Still, the almost 1,000-meter-tall volcano frequently finds a method to put on a program.
Some of the most common displays are wave clouds– the triangular, banded patterns of clouds that arise from the disrupted circulation of air around the volcano. However in this image, acquired on November 7, 2021, with the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, the more engaging feature is the bright white stream visible downwind of the island.
The feature is potentially a type of cloud understood as a volcano track. These “tracks” occur when passing clouds communicate with the gases and particles from a volcano. The additional particles from the volcano produce more and smaller sized cloud droplets, that make the cloud appear more vibrant. “As the cloud moves over the volcano, the imprint of those smaller beads remain in the cloud, resembling a stream or a track of different texture when seen from above,” stated NASA atmospheric researcher Santiago Gassó, who identified the function and regularly searches for volcano tracks in satellite images.
Volcano tracks can be difficult to recognize in natural-color images. This image is incorrect color, made up with a combination of shortwave infrared and blue light (OLI bands 7-6-2) to assist distinguish the track from the rest of the cloud deck. Discover the striking lenticular cloud. Unrelated to the volcanic activity, these clouds can develop at the crest of climatic waves that form when wind comes across a topographic barrier and is forced up.
Volcano tracks are an useful tool for scientists attempting to spot cases of less extreme volcanic activity. Such activity– the basic “puffs” of water vapor, particles, and gases– is typical, but often goes unreported due to the fact that the emissions usually stay listed below (or within) the clouds. By studying the clouds around these volcanic puffs, scientists have been acquiring insight into how clouds form and develop.
There is likewise the chance that the plume from Mount Michael on November 7 increased above the cloud deck, implying the feature would be a common volcanic plume, and not a volcano track. I can see several shadows recommending that what I called a volcano track is in fact a plume positioned immediately above the cloud deck– low adequate to cast a little shadow,” Gassó stated.
Without lidar information to measure the features height, it is not possible to understand if the function is volcano track or a plume. Either way, Gassó notes: “There is some appeal in it? Because exact same method, it sets off interest to discover more.”
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The extra particles from the volcano produce more and smaller cloud droplets, which make the cloud appear more vibrant. “As the cloud moves over the volcano, the imprint of those smaller sized droplets remain in the cloud, resembling a stream or a track of different texture when seen from above,” said NASA climatic researcher Santiago Gassó, who spotted the function and consistently hunts for volcano tracks in satellite images.
By studying the clouds around these volcanic puffs, researchers have been gaining insight into how clouds form and progress.
There is likewise the possibility that the plume from Mount Michael on November 7 rose above the cloud deck, implying the function would be a common volcanic plume, and not a volcano track. I can see numerous shadows recommending that what I called a volcano track is really a plume placed immediately above the cloud deck– low enough to cast a small shadow,” Gassó said.