Eruption of Barren Island volcano, Andaman Sea

The volcano on Barren Island was steaming on August 24, 2005. A part of India, Barren Island is one of the Andaman Islands, and lies over the fault whose movement caused the tsunami on December 26, 2004. It is a stratovolcano composed of lava, rock fragments, and volcanic ash. On the west side of the island is a caldera formed by an explosive eruption in the Pleistocene era. Two kilometers wide, the caldera takes up the bulk of this tiny island, which measures only 3 kilometers across.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard the Aqua satellite captured this image on August 24, 2005. In this image, smoke blows from the volcano eastward over the Andaman Sea toward a bank of clouds. The red outline indicates surface area hotter than its surroundings.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published August 26, 2005
Data acquired August 24, 2005

Source:

Aqua > MODIS