NASA MODIS Image of the Day: February 5, 2012 – Submarine eruptions off El Hierro, Canary Islands
After a brief period of relative subsidence in late 2011, the submarine volcanic eruption off of the island of El Hierro once again increased activity in early 2012.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on February 1, 2012.
On January 31, shortly before this image was captured, a new earthquake swarm began in El Hierro, Canary Islands. Along with the increase in number and intensity of tremors, there has been an increase in volcanic activity as new magma is ejected from the volcano. Local reports note that the Jacuzzi-like bubbling of the ocean waters has intensified, and glowing volcanic debris has become intermittently visible on the surface of the ocean. In addition, smoking lava stones have been seen surfacing in the area. The eruption of the underwater volcano began in mid-October, 2011, after months of increasingly frequent and severe tremors had been recorded.
