January 31, 2015 - Ash plumes from Asosan and Sakura-jima, southern Japan

Ash plumes from Asosan and Sakura-jima, southern Japan

On January 21, 2015 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite passed over Japan’s Kyushu Island and captured this true-color image of active volcanic eruptions.

In the northern section of the image, a thin plume of gray volcanic ash can be seen rising from Asosan and blowing strongly to the southeast. Further south, near the gray pixels that indicate the cities of Kagoshima, Aira, and Kirishima, a thick brown plume rises from Sakura-jima. That plume wafts to the north, towards Aira and Kirishima.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) the eruption from Asosan’s Nakadake Crater, which began on November 25, 2014 continued intermittently through January 26, 2015. Plumes rose to 1 km (3,280 ft.) on January 20 and incandescent material was sometimes ejected onto the crater rim from January 16-26.

Sakura-jima continued to be active, with 1-5 explosions daily, according to Volcano Discovery. Ash plumes were reaching 2.4 to 3.3 km (8,000 – 11,000 ft.), or up to 2.5 km (8,200 ft.) above the crater. Sakura-jima sits in the middle of Kagoshima Bay, and only 8 km (5 mi) from the city of Kagoshima, where more than 500,000 people live. While Sakura-jima has a history of frequent, low-level eruptions which date back to the 8th century, its proximity to such a large population means it must be considered a dangerous volcano. It is closely monitored to watch for increased activity.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/20//2015
Resolutions: 500m (102.5 KB), 250m (252.1 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC