Plume from Rabaul Volcano

Plume from Rabaul Volcano

On August 14, 2009, Rabaul Volcano on the northeastern tip of Papua New Guinea’s New Britain released a volcanic plume. The plume blew toward the northwest along the coast of New Ireland and formed a faint but discernible swirl over the Bismarck Sea. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture the same day.

Rabaul is a pyroclastic shield volcano with a low, broad shape resembling an ancient warrior shield. The volcano formed from broken rocks resulting from earlier eruptions. Rabaul has produced numerous explosive eruptions since regular observations began.

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