Thick ash poured from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image on April 17, 2010. The ash in this image is at two different altitudes. A concentrated plume rises over a more diffuse cloud of ash, casting a dark shadow on the ash below. The volcano had been emitting ash in puffs that reached between 16,000 and 24,000 feet, according to the Icelandic Met Office. The higher plume seen here is likely from a more explosive event.
The large image provides a wider view of the volcano, plume, and Iceland. The large image is the highest-resolution image available, but the image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
