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Satellites monitor Icelandic ash plume

23 May 2011

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The animation, produced on 23 May, shows the forecast positions of volcanic ash (total column in units of g/m2) from 20:00 GMT on 21 May to 06:00 on 27 May from the Grímsvötn volcanic eruption. The emission source varies in time and assumes a uniform height profile up to the reported plume heights measured by radar. It is also constrained by total fine ash mass determined by satellite.

Credits: NILU

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The start of the Grímsvötn May 2011 eruption as seen by the US GOES-13 satellite. The volcanic plume was apparent on the very edge of GOES-east imagery, which can be seen in the animation of visible channel images. The oblique viewing angle from this satellite helped to emphasise the large vertical extent of the erupted plume.

Credits: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies

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Ash plume from the Grímsvötn volcano as seen on 23 May at 12.00 GMT by the MERIS instrument on board ESA's Envisat satellite.

Credits: ESA

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Sulphur dioxide emissions from Grímsvötn

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Measurements of sulphur dioxide being carried from the Grímsvötn volcano towards the northeast of Iceland on May 22–23. Data from the Eumetsat MetOp satellite's Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer and the NASA EOS-AURA satellite's Ozone Monitoring Instrument were used to generate this animation.

Credits: BIRA/IASB–Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy