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September 23, 2021 - Volcanic Eruption, La Palma, Canary Islands
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After a dormancy of 50 years, the Cumbre Viejo volcano on Las Palma, Canary Islands, erupted in spectacular fashion on September 19, 2021, with a fierce explosion that ejected material high into the air and produced a large plume of gas and ash. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, at 1510 UTC (11:10 EDT) two 200-meter- (650-foot-) long fissures aligned north-to-south opened about 200 m (650 ft) apart in the municipality of El Paso, with scientists observing seven vents along the fissures during the initial state of the eruption. Several tall lava fountains contributed to lava flows that ignited forest fires as they moved downslope. Ash plumes were reported to have risen about 1.5 km (.93 mi) while gas plumes rose to about 3 km (1.8 mi) and drifted to the east southeast. By September 20, a main cone had formed, and the average lava flow rate was estimated to be about 700 meters (0.43 miles) per hour. Although no injuries were reported, about 5,500 people were evacuated and the airport was briefly closed.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the ongoing eruption on September 20. A large red “hot spot” marks the area where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. In this case, the heat is coming from fresh lava flow from the cone and fissures. A cloud of gas and ash appears to be rising nearly straight up from the volcano and can be seen drifting towards the southwest.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/20/2021
Resolutions:
1km (43.3 KB), 500m (139.2 KB), 250m (418 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
After a dormancy of 50 years, the Cumbre Viejo volcano on Las Palma, Canary Islands, erupted in spectacular fashion on September 19, 2021, with a fierce explosion that ejected material high into the air and produced a large plume of gas and ash. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, at 1510 UTC (11:10 EDT) two 200-meter- (650-foot-) long fissures aligned north-to-south opened about 200 m (650 ft) apart in the municipality of El Paso, with scientists observing seven vents along the fissures during the initial state of the eruption. Several tall lava fountains contributed to lava flows that ignited forest fires as they moved downslope. Ash plumes were reported to have risen about 1.5 km (.93 mi) while gas plumes rose to about 3 km (1.8 mi) and drifted to the east southeast. By September 20, a main cone had formed, and the average lava flow rate was estimated to be about 700 meters (0.43 miles) per hour. Although no injuries were reported, about 5,500 people were evacuated and the airport was briefly closed.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the ongoing eruption on September 20. A large red “hot spot” marks the area where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. In this case, the heat is coming from fresh lava flow from the cone and fissures. A cloud of gas and ash appears to be rising nearly straight up from the volcano and can be seen drifting towards the southwest.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/20/2021
Resolutions:
1km (43.3 KB), 500m (139.2 KB), 250m (418 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
