Plume from Dukono

Plume from Dukono

Dukono, a volcano on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, released a plume of ash and steam on May 3, 2009, and it was observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.

Clouds obscure the summit of Dukono in this true-color image, but a faint plume blows away from the volcano toward the east-northeast. Unlike the nearby clouds, the plume has a slightly darker color and more diffuse outlines. According to a bulletin from the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency, an ash plume from Dukono had extended 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) east of the summit by May 4, 2009.

Dukono is a complex volcano with multiple summit peaks and overlapping craters. The volcano’s remote location makes reports of its activity rare, but it ranks among Indonesia’s most active volcanoes.

NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.