NASA MODIS Image of the Day: May 18, 2011 – Ash from Karymsky, Kamchatka Peninsula, eastern Russia

Images

Karymsky is one of the most active volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

Active for the past 500 years, the volcano regularly emits plumes of ash and volcanic gases.

Evidence of these frequent eruptions is visible in this natural-color satellite image. A radial pattern of dark gray ash extends away from Karymsky’s summit, and a plume of ash extends to the southeast, over Kronotskiy Kroniv (Kronotsky Gulf). The Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) reported that on May 7, 2011, the ash plumes rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft.) a.s.l., with ash plumes extending about 211 mi (340 km) eastward. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite captured this true-color image that same day.