Satellite Image: Volcanic Eruption in New Guinea
21 May 2012
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Fig. 1
Credit: NASA images By Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon using EO-1 ALI data
NASA recently published a beautiful natural-color satellite image (Fig. 1) of the eruption of the Bagana volcano in Papua New Guinea. Bagana is located on the mountainous spine of Bouganville Island. It spews volcanic gases (including water vapor and sulfur dioxide) almost continuously, and frequently extrudes thick lava flows.
Fig. 1 reveals a fresh lava flow on Bagana’s eastern flank. The image was acquired by the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite, on 16 May 2012. Images by Landsat 7 shows that the flow developed in the period between March 2011 and February 2012. The new lava is dark brown, while lighter brown areas were probably stripped of vegetation by volcanic material or acidic gases. Older lava flows are covered in light green vegetation, and the surrounding forests are dark green. The volcanic vapors and clouds are both white.
References
NASA Earth Observatory
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=77975
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem