Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired April 5, 2006 600 x 480 16 KB - JPEG
Data acquired April 5, 2006 337 x 290 24 KB - JPEG
The eruption of a volcano on Barren Island is featured in this image acquired on April 4, 2006. The island, a part of India, is located in the Andaman Sea, sandwiched in between the Bay of Bengal to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south. It is the only active volcano that is part of a cluster of volcanoes that connect Sumatra and Myanmar. It has erupted at least 6 other times in recorded history. The region is very active tectonically, producing the massive earthquake (and ensuing tsunami) that occurred on December 26, 2004. This was caused by the (on-going) collision of the Indo-Australian and southeastern Eurasian plates and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands in the region and tens of thousands on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Barren Islands are devoid of humans, but they are not exactly barren. In fact, they are home to a large population of feral goats, which apparently attracted some attention when it was believed that they consumed either no water or sea water. The mystery of what the goats drank was solved when researchers discovered freshwater springs on the island.
Jeff Schmaltz
Published April 9, 2006 Data acquired April 5, 2006