Science

Vulcan's View 14: Eruptions and Volcanoes Eyed from Space

  • Sakurajima Japan
  • Rabaul Papua New Guinea
  • Ambrym Vanuatu
1 / 10
sakurajima-japan
Time for another salvo of volcanoes as seen from space. This bunch is varied -- some very active and well-known and some that are unknown to almost everyone. Enjoy!

Sakurajima, Japan

If you regularly read Eruptions and aren't aware of Sakurajima, well, maybe you need to work on your reading comprehension. This Japanese volcano has already produced over 500 eruptions since the beginning of 2013, including one of its largest explosion eruptions in decades. The deposits of the pyroclastic density currents (flows) can be seen on southeast slopes below the Showa crater in this NASA Earth Observatory / Landsat 8 image taken August 19, 2013. If you want to check out the full history of Sakurajima and some thoughts on what the future might hold for eruptions at Sakurajima, check out this presentation by Masato Iguchi (large PDF link) of the Sakurajima Volcano Research Center. Image: NASA Earth Observatory/USGS.