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Sheveluch Stratovolcano
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full resolution TIFF |
Klyuchevskoy Stratovolcano
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full resolution TIFF |
One of the most volcanically active regions of the world is the Kamchatka
Peninsula in eastern Siberia, Russia. It is not uncommon for several
volcanoes to be erupting at the same time. On April 26, 2007, the Advanced
Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radioneter (ASTER) on NASA's
Terra spacecraft captured these images of the Klyuchevskoy and Sheveluch
stratovolcanoes, erupting simultaneously, and 80 kilometers (50 miles)
apart. Over Klyuchevskoy, the thermal infrared data (overlaid in red)
indicates that two open-channel lava flows are descending the northwest
flank of the volcano. Also visible is an ash-and-water plume extending to
the east. Sheveluch volcano is partially cloud-covered. The hot flows
highlighted in red come from a lava dome at the summit. They are
avalanches of material from the dome, and pyroclastic flows.
With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared
wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters
(about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing
surface of our planet.
ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18,
1999, on NASA's Terra spacecraft. The instrument was built by Japan's
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team
is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the
data products.
The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides
scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface
mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example
applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring
potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud
morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution
monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils
and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
Size: 19.2 by 21 kilometers (11.9 by 13.0 miles)
Location: 57 degrees North latitude, 161 degrees East longitude
Orientation: North at top
Image Data: ASTER Bands 3, 2, and 1, and 12 in red
Original Data Resolution: ASTER 15 meters (49.2 feet) visible; 90 meters
(295.2 feet) thermal infrared
Date Acquired: April 26, 2007
