Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Holuhraun, Iceland Volcanic Lava Flows (6 September 2014)


On the night of September 6, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft observed the ongoing eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland, from an altitude of 438 miles (705 kilometers). Data were collected at a resolution of 98 feet (30 meters) per pixel at different visible and infrared wavelengths.

Although partially covered by clouds, this scene shows the extent of the lava flows that have been erupting from a long fissure over the last week. The front of the lava flows are to the right (east) and extend more than 6.3 miles (10 kilometers) from the vent. The intense radiant energy from the incandescent lava illuminates the clouds and plume from the vent to create this ethereal scene.

The ongoing eruption is being closely monitored by scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the University of Iceland.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/Ashley Davies

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