NASA's Terra satellite captured astounding images of the erupting
Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. See a larger image below. (NASA)
A week ago the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate as lava and ash shot into the air. The eruption has continued since and NASA's Terra satellite recently flew over the island nation and captured stunning images of the volcano.
Editor's note: The images to the right and below are from the March eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. After viewing the images below, click here to check out a complete slideshow of recent satellite images of the volcano from NASA, ESA and more.
A fissure in the earth nearly one half mile long has opened and continues to experience heightened activity.
In addition to the dangers presented by the ash and lava, Eyjafjallajokull sits beneath a massive glacier of the same name. Should the eruption spread, it could begin to melt the glacier creating massive flooding.
Eyjafjallajokull last erupted in 1821, an event that lasted for more than a year but was relatively minor in nature. Prior to that, an explosive eruption occurred on the mountain in 1612.
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Officials fear that the increased activity at Eyjafjallajokull may trigger an eruption at Katla, a bigger and potentially more powerful volcano. Past activity at Eyjafjallajokull has done just that and residents are casting a wary eye on both mountains.
NASA's Terra satellite flew over the area on Wednesday and from its perch in space, it captured images clearly showing the flowing lava, steam and plume of smoke.
Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland (NASA)
Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano burst into life for the first time in 190 years on March 20, 2010. A 500-meter- (2,000-foot) long fissure opened in the Fimmvörduháls pass to the west of the ice-covered summit of Eyjafjallajökull. Lava fountains erupted fluid magma, which quickly built several hills of bubble-filled lava rocks (scoria) along the vent. A lava flow spread northeast, spilling into Hrunagil Gully.
This natural-color satellite image shows lava fountains, lava flows, a volcanic plume, and steam from vaporized snow. The image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The lava fountains are orange-red, barely visible at the 10-meter (33-foot) resolution of the satellite. The scoria cones surrounding the fissure are black, as is the lava flow extending to the northeast. White volcanic gases escape from the vent and erupting lava, while a steam plume rises where the hot lava meets snow. (The bright green color along the edge of the lava flow is an artifact of the sensor.)
The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was presaged by a series of earthquakes starting in early March. Over time, the earthquakes rose towards the surface, and land near the volcano rose at least 40 millimeters (2 inches)—both indications that magma was moving underneath the volcano. The eruption continued through at least March 26th, and may continue for several more months.
Previous eruptions in the area have caused flooding due to the melting of glacial ice (a Jökulhlaup), but the current eruption is in an area covered by winter snow, not permanent ice. Although some past eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were followed by larger, explosive eruptions at nearby Katla Volcano, there is currently no sign of activity at Katla.
References
Eruptions. (2010, March 4). Increasing signs of activity at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Accessed March 26, 2010.
Eruptions. (2010, March 24). Iceland Eruption Update for 3/24/2010. Accessed March 26, 2010.
Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.). Eyjafjöll. Accessed March 26, 2010.
Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.). Katla. Accessed March 26, 2010.
Icelandic Met Office. (2010, March). An eruption in South Iceland. Accessed March 26, 2010.
Icelandic Met Office. (2010, March). Photos from Fimmvörðuháls. Accessed March 26, 2010.
Links
NASA image by Robert Simmon, using ALI data from the EO-1 team. Caption by Robert Simmon.
Comments
cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big, big trouble coming as a result of the volcano.
Temperature drop, haze , dust, etc.
2012 baby
The first of many more. Next in line, Krakatoa.
or the next is that newly discovered monster undersea volcano off the SW coast of Indonesia.
coolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love volcanoes
and the picture is really good
i thank the island volcano is the beganning of the life end in the global.can we back to Allal
that make me want to learn more
So much for global warming... Problem solved!
The Earth has been changing for 4 billion years. We need to remember we are just brief visitors on this planet, and very insignificant. Don't be a blind follower and believe everything you see, hear, or read...
The Mayans were right!!!!!
I think that it is a warning from God !!!!!!!!!
It puts out more green house gasses in every 15 min more then man can in its entire history and we are totaly to blame for the globale warming i say ha to that
and the eruption is natural there is 200 of these volcanos all over the world.
my teacher made us do a report on this :(
Bring it on the temp drop will bring an end to global warming lol
It’s natural people it’s not a sign or god or anything more the pressure building up under the earth that needs to be released in my opinion I think this has been going on since the start of time. It’s an eruption nothing more nothing less, it is cool seeing how people react to it. At least it’s an awesome force of nature making the front page for a change and not blood.
I agree bob
Has anyone imagined if there is a lava flow of mere few inches in your city, we'll become history and the "funny" part is that there wont be any remains left to tell the future evolution how advanced we were. They are going to think that we were very primitive and probably died of some common flu or may be earth became cold. We will be flushed... that's the refresh button of mother nature. AFTER EVERY 4 BILLION YRS
yeah well its hard to no wat the real cause is wether its god or not we would want to be doing something about it . if it helps or not we should start changing my aunts a scientest and she said thet there is still hope we can still do something so go do it HURRY THANKS ..
i think its pretty
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