Semeru Volcano, on the island of Java, emitted another modest cloud of volcanic ash and/or steam in late August 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on August 25. The volcanic plume can be distinguished from the nearby clouds by its dull color and diffuse shape. In contrast, the clouds in this image appear as discrete white dots. During the spring and summer of 2006, Semeru released many of its plumes not in continuous streams but in series of “burps.” This plume appears to follow the same pattern; while a fairly sizable plume blows off to the west, another puff appears at the summit.
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
