NASA MODIS Image of the Day: October 30, 2011 – Kuril Islands
The clouds parted over the Kuril Islands on October 24, 2011, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite to capture this true-color image of the northernmost group of islands in the volcanic chain.
The Kurils are an island arc of 56 islands extending 1300 km between northeastern Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia.
Island arcs form along an active boundary between two tectonic plates, where one plate is being driven beneath the other (subduction). Magma generated by the subduction process feeds volcanoes, which eventually form volcanic islands over the subduction boundary. The Kurils lie 150 km northwest of the tectonic boundary at the junction of the Pacific and Okhotsk Plates. The also mark the boundary between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. At the top of this image, the southern tip of the Kamchatka peninsula can be seen, with the Kurils just to the south. In order, from north to south, the islands which can be easily seen are: Shumshu, Atlastov, Paramushir, Antsiferova (tiny), Makanrushi, Onekotan, Kharimkotan, Ekama (small and west), Shiaskotan, Raykoke, Matua, Rasshua, Ushishir, Ketoy, and Simushir (long).
