Interior Temperature is Rising
Posted by JAC on 4/26/2010, 12:15 pm


High-resolution visible and thermal infrared images captured by a joint NASA-Japanese
satellite sensor and compiled by University of Pittsburgh volcanologist Michael Ramsey
provide the first clear glimpse of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull that has disrupted air travel worldwide since it began erupting April 14.

Ramsey, an associate professor in Pitt's Department of Geology and Planetary Science,
collected images taken by NASA's Earth-orbiting Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and
Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER) instrument showing that although the volcano's infamous
ash plume is receding, its internal temperature is rising.




Ramsey is a member of the ASTER science team and specializes in remote sensors and
visualization as applied to volcanoes. His work with ASTER usually centers on the north Pacific
region, but the satellite was redirected to Iceland to help scientists at the Iceland GeoSurvey
(ÍSOR) who cannot safely approach the volcano. Ramsey has been sharing the images
with colleagues at ÍSOR and volcanologists worldwide.

Unlike standard weather-satellite images, the high-resolution pictures from ASTER can help
scientists determine the plume's chemical composition and thickness, the location of lava
flows, and the volcano's internal temperature, Ramsey explained.

The data can help better monitor the volcano's activity, particularly its possible triggering effect
on the nearby and much larger volcano Katla, which in the ASTER images is seen as a large
off-color area to the right of Eyjafjallajökull. In the past, Katla has erupted every time
Eyjafjallajökull has, though the ASTER images so far show no signs of an imminent
explosion, Ramsey said.

Casey Kazan via NASA



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