VOLCANO MADNESS: [Geology2] Nabro and Puyehue Volcanoes NASA Images

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

[Geology2] Nabro and Puyehue Volcanoes NASA Images

Nabro, a stratovolcano in the northeast African nation of Eritrea, rumbled to life late in the evening on June 12, 2011, following a series of earthquakes. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image the next day.

Initial reports from news agencies and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Toulouse, France, proclaimed the eruption to be occurring at Dubbi, a volcano further south. But later reports from volcanologists, field scientists, and the satellite image above appear to confirm the eruption at Nabro. There are no historical reports of eruptions at Nabro before today.

The volcano is part of a larger complex with several nested calderas nearby. It is part of the East African Rift, where the African continent is slowly pulling apart due to tectonic plate movements.

References
Eruptions Blog, BigThink.com. (2011, June 13) Quick Update on the Nabro (Eritrea) and Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Eruptions. Accessed June 13, 2011.
Shabait.com. (2011, June 13) Volcanic Eruption Witnessed In The Tip Of Southern Red Sea Region. Accessed June 13, 2011.
Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.) Nabro. Accessed June 13, 2011.
The Volcanism Blog. (2011, June 13) Eritrea eruption update: Nabro volcano erupts. Accessed June 13, 2011.

NASA images courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michael Carlowicz.

See image here at source

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Perhaps the greatest danger posed by the erupting Puyehue-Cordón Volcano Complex in Chile is the thick layer of ash being deposited east of the volcano. This image, taken on June 13, 2011, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite, shows ash on the ground and a large plume streaming east from the volcano.

The pale tan coating of ash on the ground has been accumulating since June 4, when the eruption started. The Chilean Service of Minerals and Mining (SERNAGEOMIN) warned that when winter rains begin to fall in the coming weeks, the loose ash could create dangerous landslides and lahars, particularly in ash-clogged river valleys in the Andes Mountains.

The image above also shows a large plume of volcanic ash blowing about 800 kilometers east and then northeast over Argentina. The plume has disrupted air traffic as far away as New Zealand.

Though the intensity of the eruption has decreased slightly, volcanic activity is holding steady. The plume reached between 4 and 8 kilometers in altitude on June 13, its height varying with the intensity of the eruption throughout the day.