Ash Plume from Karymsky

Ash Plume from Karymsky

Weeks of mild ash eruptions have stained the snow around the Karymsky volcano of far eastern Russia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this photo-like image of the volcano on April 25, 2006. Karymsky is the most active volcano in the chain of volcanoes that line the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Its current activity began on November 15, 2001, according to the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program, and continues with intermittent ash eruptions. The effect of recent ash eruptions on the landscape is evident in this image. A dark, grey-brown dusting of ash fans out from the volcano’s summit.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.