On June 2, a devastating mudslide in the world-renowned Geyser Valley on
the Kamchatka Peninsula virtually obliterated the natural wonder, forcing
the emergency evacuation of visitors and national park personnel. The
site, which is the Kamchatka Peninsula's main tourist attraction, consists
of some 200 thermal pools created by the area's intense volcanic activity,
including about 90 geysers covering an area of four square kilometers (2.5
square miles). It is one of only five sites in the world where the
impressive eruptions of steam and boiling-hot water can be found.
According to witnesses, a powerful mudslide 1.5 kilometers (one mile) long
and 200 meters (600 feet) wide buried more than two-thirds of the valley
beneath tens of meters of snow, dirt, trees and boulders (right image),
and created a temporary lake submerging more geysers.
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: 6 by 7.5 kilometers (3.7 by 4.6 miles)
Location: 54.5 degrees North latitude, 160.1 degrees East longitude
Orientation: North at top
Image Data: ASTER Bands 3, 2, and 1
Original Data Resolution: ASTER 15 meters (49.2 feet)
Date Acquired: September 27, 2005 and June 11, 2007.