San Francisco Peaks Volcano Field May 23, 2006
Posted by jtintle in Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Rad, Earth, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Planets, Satellite, Space Agencies, Space Fotos, Terra satellite, Volcanoes.comments closed
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Northern Arizona is best known for the Grand Canyon. Less widely known are the hundreds of geologically young volcanoes scattered across the southern portion of the Colorado Plateau at the eastern foothills of the San Francisco Peaks. This image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite shows the numerous cinder cones, hills of volcanic ash and rock fragments, in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in the foreground (bottom part of the scene) with San Francisco Mountain in the background. ASTER image data from October 21, 2003, were draped over topographic data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The picture is oriented as if you were looking generally westward. The large version of the image is centered near 35.3 degrees north latitude and 111.5 degrees west longitude.
The developed areas of the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, appear as bright white flecks against the surrounding vegetation. To the north of the city rises Elden Mountain, separated by a canyon from the larger San Francisco Mountain. The catastrophic result of an eruption at San Francisco Mountain about 400,000 years ago is visible in the collapsed look of the mountain’s eastern flank. Lava and other volcanic material appear purple, and the cinder cone field is tinged with green, as vegetation begins to colonize the newly laid landscape. Among the most dramatic flows is the Bonito Lava Flow.
Native Americans were living in this region when the cinder cone volcano known as Sunset Crater (named for the red-tinged rocks and cinders on its slopes) was born around 900 years ago. Accounts of the volcanic activity, which included several eruptions between A.D. 1064 and 1180, describe earthquakes, fire bombs, billowing ash, falling cinders, forest fires, and lava flows. The region is part of the sacred lands of several modern Pueblo peoples, and Sunset Crater is protected as a National Monument.
- Further Reading
- Sunset Crater National Monument Webpage from the U.S. National Park Service
- San Francisco Peaks from a different perspective from the Earth Observatory Website
NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Twin Summits May 14, 2006
Posted by jtintle in Planets, Space Fotos, Venera 13, Venera 14, Venus, Volcanoes.comments closed
Explanation:
Located in the Atla Regio region of Venus is Sapas Mons. The sides of the volcano are covered with numerous overlapping lava flows, many of which appear to have originated along the sides of the volcano rather than from its double summit. This type of eruption is common of large shield volcanoes on Earth, such as those found in Hawaii. Color was artificially added to this image and is based on the colors that the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft observed in the 1970s.
Credit: Welcome to the Planets
Restless Augustine Island April 20, 2006
Posted by jtintle in Earth, NASA, Space Fotos, Volcanoes.comments closed
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Alaska’s Augustine Volcano started 2006 with a bang, producing explosive eruptions in mid-January. The volcano had quieted by March 2006, although the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) warned that explosive eruptions could still occur at any time. The volcano continued a fairly similar behavior pattern in April.
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA ’s Terra satellite captured this image on April 18, 2006. According to the AVO, Augustine’s seismic activity jumped that day. The volcano continued its customary steam plume, and light winds allowed the plume to rise directly above the summit about 300 to 600 meters (1,000 to 2,000 feet). This image shows the steam plume flowing from the summit in the south. The cloudy form to the north could be cloud, or a steam plume from the volcano’s pyroclastic flow deposits—hot rock fragments and ash.
Augustine Volcano is considered the most active volcano in the eastern Aleutian arc. Its biggest historical eruption occurred in 1883 when the volcano’s dome collapsed. The volcano erupted again in 1986, producing an avalanche of ash, rock fragments, and gas. Augustine’s activity spans a longer time span than historical records cover, and its oldest dated volcanic rocks are more than 40,000 years old.
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Kilauea Caldera December 10, 2005
Posted by jtintle in Earth Observing System (EOS), Earth, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Ikonos, Kilauea, NASA, Space Fotos, Volcano House, Volcanoes.comments closed
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Image copyright: Space Imaging
If you were to rank all of the volcanoes in the world in terms of activity, Kilauea would come out near the top. The volcano is so given to eruptions that it is said to be home to Pele, the temperamental Hawaiian volcano goddess. The most recent eruption began pouring from Kilauea’s east rift into the Pacific Ocean in 1983 and had not ceased as of December 8, 2005. Though no more than a lump on the eastern flanks of the massive Mauna Loa volcano on the Island of Hawaii, Kilauea has been prodigiously more productive than its neighbor. As much as ninety percent of Kilauea’s surface is less than 1,100 years old.
This Ikonos image, taken on January 14, 2003, shows Kilauea’s summit caldera, the surface of which is covered in fresh lava flows. The newer flows are dark, while the older flows pale as the iron in the lava oxidizes into rust. The oldest flow in the caldera is from 1882. The Halema`uma`u crater forms a pale circle in the southwest section of the caldera. As recently as 1924, the crater was filled with a molten lava lake. According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (visible in the upper left corner of the image), the name comes from Polynesian mythology. “Halema`uma`u� refers to a house of ferns that Kamapua`a, a suitor of Pele, built over the crater to keep her from escaping. As the fresh flows in the image testify, the attempt was not successful. The other crater seen in the image, Keanakako`i, was the site of an eruption in 1974. In the upper right corner of the image is Volcano House, a private hotel.
- Further Reading:
- Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
- Age and Distribution of Lava Flows in Kilauea Caldera from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Kilauea from the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program
Topography of Popocatepetl December 2, 2005
Posted by jtintle in Earth Observing System (EOS), Earth, Mexico, NASA, Popocatépetl Volcano, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Space Fotos, topography.comments closed
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Explanation: Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano ushered in the new month with a moderate eruption on the morning of December 1, 2005. According to reports from the local monitoring station, an ash plume rose 5 kilometers above the summit and spread east-northeast, scattering a light ash fall onto nearby towns and cities. Several hours later a smaller ash column rose 2.5 kilometers above the volcano’s summit. As of December 1, 2005, scientists at the monitoring station had placed the volcanic alert level to yellow—indicating that those nearby should be aware that the volcano is active, should make basic emergency preparedness arrangements, and should remain alert for reports from authorities—but they were not anticipating a major eruption in coming days.
This image shows the topography of the Popocatépetl Volcano and the surrounding landscape in colors ranging from green (low elevation) to yellow to pink to white (highest elevation). Popocatépetl is a stratovolcano, the classic symmetrical (in this case cone-shaped) mountain with a circular crater in its summit. The volcano sits in the center of the image, its slopes rising from the surrounding plain and dissected by many cracks. To the east, scallop-edged raised areas show the location of hardened lava flows.
According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Website, “At least three previous major cones [at Popocatépetl] were destroyed by gravitational failure during the Pleistocene, producing massive debris-avalanche deposits south of the volcano.â€? That history may explain why the southern portion of the volcano and the terrain to the south appear much more rugged than the area to the west and the east. North of Popocatépetl is a peak known as Iztaccihuatl, a 900,000-year-old volcano whose last eurptive episode was 80,000 years ago. The topographic map is made from data collected by the Space Shuttle Endeavour in February 2000 as part of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM).
The volcano is just an hour southeast of Mexico City, and it has a history of mild to moderate eruptions throughout the recorded history of the Aztecs and the Spanish. It had been dormant for many decades until an eruption in December 1996 opened a new chapter in the volcano’s eruptive history.
- Related Links:
- Popocatépetl Information from the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
- Popocatépetl Webpage from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program Website
- Popocatépetl Monitoring Station Webpage (Mostly in Spanish, Recent Reports in English)
NASA image by Robert Simmon, based on SRTM data provided by the UMD Global Land Cover Facility
Karthala Volcano Erupts December 1, 2005
Posted by jtintle in Earth Observing System (EOS), Earth, Karthala, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, NASA, Space Fotos, Terra satellite.comments closed
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On November 24, 2005, Americans celebrated Thanksgiving. Halfway around the world, some 2,000 people fled their homes, hoping to escape the latest eruption of the Karthala Volcano. The volcano covered nearby villages in ash, and locals had little means of protecting their lungs besides covering their faces with scarves. As of November 28, one casualty (an infant) had been reported.
Karthala is one of two volcanoes that make up Grand Comore (or Ngazidja) Island in the Comoros archipelago. These islands lie in the Indian Ocean, between Africa and Madagascar. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard the Terra satellite captured this image on November 25, 2005. In this image, Grand Comore appears only in outline as material from the eruption completely obscures the satellite’s view of the land surface. The volcanic ash ranges in color from tan to beige. It has spread out around the volcano in all directions, but moves primarily eastward.
With an altitude of 2,361 meters (7,746 feet), Karthala is a shield volcano, with smooth slopes built from hardened lava. Comprising the southern portion of Grand Comore Island, Karthala is a regular troublemaker in its neighborhood. The volcano has erupted about 20 times in the last century, most recently in April 2005. The November 2005 eruption caused fears of lava floods and poisonous gases. The volcano had showed signs of trouble for several days before the eruption, and the ground continued to rumble afterwards.
Even after the volcano stopped erupting, trouble for the region was expected to continue. The November eruption fouled drinking water already made scarce by the region’s dry season. According to news reports, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that almost 120,000 people were without clean drinking water after the volcano dropped ash into water cisterns.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center
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