Eruption of Soufriere Hills, Montserrat - related image preview

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Eruption of Soufriere Hills, Montserrat

Soufriere Hills volcano erupted again on December 27, 2002, sending a plume of ash and steam (grayish pixels) streaming westward over the Caribbean Sea. This is the most recent in a string of Montserrat eruptions dating back to July 18, 1995, which was the volcano’s first recorded eruption in recent history. That eruption resulted in the emergency evacuation of most of the citizens from off the island. Since then, intermittent pyroclastic flows have streaked the eastern and western flanks of Soufriere Hills a whitish gray, in contrast with the dark greens of the lush rainforest canopy that grew undisturbed for centuries.

Soufriere Hills is a stratovolcano on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean. This true-color image of Montserrat was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite on Dec. 27.


Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published December 30, 2002
Data acquired December 27 - 27, 2002

Source:
Terra > MODIS
Topics:
Solid Earth > Volcanoes > Eruption Dynamics
Solid Earth > Volcanoes > Volcanic Ash/Dust
Collection:
MODIS Rapid Response