Saturday, June 07, 2008

CHAITEN UPDATE

Chaiten Volcano in Chile is still erupting ash and steam over land and sea. The image from NASA below shows a blue-green plume along the coastline which is likely to be ash and pumice in the water. The inland lakes to the east show a similar blue-green colour which could also be from volcanic material. A fresh ash delta extends into the harbour and mud has also filled the river channel forcing a slurry of ash and water over the banks of Rio Blanco and through the town's streets. The volcanic plume appears to be hugging the valley floors as it moves inland, leaving the mountain peaks clear.


This image, also from NASA is a false-colour thermal radiation image of the volcano at night.
The light colours are high temperatures (the caldera). The dark colours are lower temperatures (the ash plume)


The lava dome is continuing to grow with fresh material emerging from the earth.

4 comments:

Brian Hughes said...

"A fresh ash delta extends into the harbour..."

That's because I emptied my ashtrays this morning.

JahTeh said...

Considering the disaster my diet was last weekend, I'll refrain from demanding you ditch the filthy habit of smoking.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for yur inspirational words JahTeh. Seein the volcano pictures makes me realise that I'm just a small dot in the grand scheme of things. But kind words helps all us little dots keep plodding along. Blessed be starshipsammi

JahTeh said...

Pass by here anytime Sammi, the door's always open, kettle's on and the house full of funny people.