PIA13046: NASA Satellite Images Provide Insights Into Iceland Volcanic Plume
 Target Name:  Earth
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Terra
 Spacecraft:  Terra
 Instrument:  MODIS
 Product Size:  3780 x 2328 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Other  
Information: 
JPL News Release 2010-134
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA13046.tif (26.4 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA13046.jpg (1.262 MB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

On April 15, 2010, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured these images of the ongoing eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, which continues to spew ash into the atmosphere and impact air travel worldwide. The left-hand, natural-color visible image shows a brownish, ash-laden plume streaming across the North Atlantic towards the United Kingdom. The right-hand image is a composite of thermal infrared channels. In this rendition, the ash plume appears red, due to the presence of silica-rich material, and the ice-rich clouds appear blue. These MODIS images do not show any evidence of sulfur dioxide clouds, which would appear yellow in the right image. It is likely that any sulfur dioxide signals were obscured by the large amounts of ash. Scientists expect to see a better expression of sulfur dioxide in later images of the plume as the ash settles over time.

Image Credit:
NASA/GSFC/JPL

Image Addition Date:
2010-04-16