Volcanic activity on the West Indian island of Montserrat has remained high for several years—the current activity started in 1995. However, remote sensing of the island has been difficult because of frequent cloud cover. The International Space Station crew flew north of the island on a clear day in early July (July 9, 2001) and recorded a vigorous steam plume emanating from the summit of Soufriere Hills. The image also reveals the extensive volcanic mud flows (lahars) and new deltas built out from the coast from the large amounts of volcanic debris delivered downstream by the rivers draining the mountain. As a small island (only 13 x 8 km), all of Montserrat has been impacted by the eruptions.

Sources of Information:
Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program
Italy’s Volcanoes
Montserrat Volcano Observatory

Digital photograph number ISS002-E-9309 was taken on 9 July 2001 from Space Station Alpha and was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.