November 22, 2024

Fiery Secrets Unearthed in Fernandina’s Latest Eruption

Satellite image of the La Cumbre volcano eruption recorded on March 5, 2024, by day-night band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite.A volcano on Fernandina, an uninhabited island dense with wildlife, is lighting up the night sky with the radiance of lava.Fernandina, the youngest of the Galápagos islands, is also the most volcanically active. In recent years, the volcano has erupted approximately every four years.The most recent eruption began on March 2, 2024, when lava began to pour from a circular fissure on the volcanos southeast flank. “This is normal of lava-producing gushing eruptions, which generally reveal peak emissions early on followed by a constant decrease towards the end of the eruption. The eruption in 2020 lasted just 2 days and eruptions in 2017 and 2018 lasted 3 days each.Fernandina is unoccupied and there is no infrastructure at risk, but the lava flows have actually proven to be a spectacle for people on passing ships.

Satellite image of the La Cumbre volcano eruption captured on March 5, 2024, by day-night band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite.A volcano on Fernandina, an unoccupied island dense with wildlife, is lighting up the night sky with the glow of lava.Fernandina, the youngest of the Galápagos islands, is likewise the most volcanically active. “This is common of lava-producing gushing eruptions, which normally show peak emissions early on followed by a stable decrease towards the end of the eruption. The eruption in 2020 lasted just two days and eruptions in 2017 and 2018 lasted 3 days each.Fernandina is uninhabited and there is no infrastructure at threat, but the lava circulations have actually shown to be a phenomenon for individuals on passing ships.