Eruption on La Palma: satellite images

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On September 19 occurred the eruption of a volcano located in Cumbre Vieja, island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. This is a geological event foreseen due to the continuous tremors that had hit the Island of La Palma in recent weeks.

The eruption of this volcano has caused the evacuation of thousands of people who have had to leave their boxes and possessions to the fate of the volcano. It is not yet known when the eruption will end or how much magma will move to the surface from the Earth’s interior.

Satellite recording the eruption

The Meteosat-11 satellite was launched in 2015 and its lifespan will end in 2033. In 2018, I replaced the Meteosat-10 satellite. It is a meteorological satellite that collects data and saves images every day and is geostationary, that is, it orbits over the Earth’s Equator line at the speed that the Earth does.

The eruption of a volcano is an impressive geological phenomenon. The earth is a flow of molten materials under our feet. Images from the Meteosat-11 satellite showed images and video inRGBcolour compositions from 19 and 20 September. These data show a higher concentration of SO_2 emitted by the volcano in the hours following the eruption.

Videos and images of the event

You can see images and recordings of what happens on the eumetsatpage. In Fig. 1 you can see images of the island of La Palma and the ashes caused by the eruption.You can see images and recordings of what happens on the eumetsatpage. In Fig. 1 you can see images of the island of La Palma and the ashes caused by the eruption.

Figure 1: Meteosat-11 ashes inRGB, 19 September 12:00 UTC-20 September 05:30 UTC.

This video is downloaded from the EUMETSAT website itself. They are for personal and non-commercial use, in accordance with the terms of use of the page.

When using the content of the EUMETSAT website, it is properly accredited as the property of EUMETSAT or the property of the accredited provider.

Real-time images to follow the event

EUROMET also allows you to view real-time images of what is happening from the EUMETView (Real-time images)address. You can zoom in on the island of La Palma and then add a layer showing the ashes. This layer is called Geostationary Ring Ash RGB. The visualizations are made up of images from various geo-stationed satellites. In Fig. 2 you can see a green cloud of ash coming out of the new Cumbre Vieja volcano

Figure 2. Real-time images from the EUMETSAT website