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NASA » Tambora: The Largest Volcanic Eruption
Eruption at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat
An October, 2009 satellite image released by NASA's Earth Observatory.
| Astronaut photograph of Soufrière Hills, a volcano on the island of Montserrat, in the Lesser Antilles island chain in
the Caribbean Sea taken on October 11, 2009 from the International Space Station. (north is towards the lower right corner of the image) Shown here is a
large ash plume escaping from the volcano along with volcanic deposits on the ground. While much of the island is covered in
green vegetation, gray deposits that include pyroclastic flows and volcanic mudflows
(lahars) are visible extending from the volcano toward the coastline. Image credit NASA / Earth Observatory. Enlarge image. |
| Location map of Soufrière Hills, a volcano on the island of Montserrat, in the Lesser Antilles island chain in the Caribbean Sea. |
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Ash and Steam Plume, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat
The Soufrière Hills, a volcano on the island of Montserrat, in the Lesser Antilles island chain in the Caribbean Sea,
has been active since 1995. The most recent eruptive phase of the volcano began with a short swarm of volcano-tectonic
earthquakes-earthquakes thought to be caused by movement of magma beneath a volcano-on October 4, 2009, followed by a
series of ash-venting events that have continued through October 13, 2009. These venting events create plumes that
can deposit ash at significant distances from the volcano. In addition to ash plumes, pyroclastic flows and lava dome
growth have been reported as part of the current eruptive activity.
Oblique View for Three-Dimensional Qualities
This oblique astronaut photograph from the International Space Station (ISS) captures a white-to-gray ash and steam
plume extending westwards from the volcano on October 11, 2009. Oblique images are taken by astronauts looking out
from the ISS at an angle, rather than looking straight downward toward the Earth (a perspective called a nadir view),
as is common with most remotely sensed data from satellites. An oblique view gives the scene a more three-dimension
quality, and provides a look at the vertical structure of the volcanic plume.
Volcanic Features on the Island
While much of the island is covered in green vegetation, gray deposits that include pyroclastic flows and volcanic mudflows
(lahars) are visible extending from the volcano toward the coastline. When compared to its extent in earlier views, the volcanic
debris has filled in more of the eastern coastline. Urban areas are visible in the northern and western portions of the
island; they are recognizable by linear street patterns and the presence of bright building rooftops. The silver-gray
appearance of the Caribbean Sea surface is due to sunglint, which is the mirror-like reflection of sunlight off the water
surface back towards the handheld camera onboard the ISS. The sunglint highlights surface wave patterns around the island.
International Space Station Image Credit
Astronaut photograph ISS021-E-5555 was acquired on October 11, 2009, with a Nikon D2Xs digital camera fitted with a 400 mm
lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center.
The image was taken by the Expedition 21 crew. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast.
Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take
pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public and to make those images freely available
on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut
Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC.
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