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Sulfur Dioxide Image Galleries

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TROPOMI Volcanic SO2 Image Archive


This archive is not an exhaustive list of all volcanic emissions detected by TROPOMI. Particularly large or otherwise interesting events will be posted here as time permits.

Images presented in the SO2 column will typically display retrievals from the current operational SO2 algorithm. In some cases, offline experimental algorithms may be implemented. Units are milli-atm-cm, also known as Dobson Units (DU), where 1 milli-atm-cm = 1 DU = 2.68x1016 molecules cm-2 at STP (0o degs C, 1013.25 hPa). Images in the Ash/Aerosols column show the TROPOMI Aerosol Index (AI), which is positive for UV-absorbing aerosols such as volcanic ash, and can be negative for non-UV absorbing aerosols such as sulfate. Note that the scale used varies between plots. For further information please contact us.

Choose a year:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |

Volcano

Date

Daily images

Movies

Notes/Links
   ↓2022 ↓      
Mauna Loa, Hawaii November 27, 2022
Nov 28
 
Mauna Loa began erupting at midnight on Nobember 27 (11:30pm local mean time (LMT) in Hawaii) with earthquakes, lava flows in main caldera and fissures in the NE rift zone. See SO2 mass time series plot. On Nov 28 (1:40pm LMT): ~0.19Tg SO2 ~NE from the eruption. The eruption vents are at ~4 km altitude and the plume altitude seems to be ~4-8 km.
Mauna Loa, Hawaii November 27, 2022
Nov 30
 
Nov 30 (~1pm LMT): There's been a wind shift since Nov 29, and the Hilo radiosonde (00 UTC on Dec 1) showed a complex wind field with significant vertical wind shear and low wind speeds at some altitudes. Stagnant/light winds would explain the very high SO2 columns (~500 DU) observed over Mauna Loa. Difficult to estimate a flux in these conditions, but just based on the total observed SO2 mass in this image (~200 kt) the SO2 flux must be in the 100-200 kt/day range.
Mauna Loa, Hawaii November 27, 2022
Dec 01
 
Dec 1: (noon-1:47pm LMT). There was a well-defined plume drifting ~SW from the eruption. Estimated SO2 fluxes of ~70,000 tons/day, i.e., lower than previous days. Of course, the satellite measurements could be underestimating the flux.
Fagradalsfjall, Iceland August 3, 2022
Aug 4
 
Fagradalsfjall volcano began erupting on Wednesday, August 3.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, Tonga, Pacific January 14, 2022
Jan 14
Jan 17
Jan 18
Jan 19
Jan 20
Jan 21
 
An underwater volcano, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (Tonga) erupted explosively between 1500 and 1530 UTC on 13 January 2022 sending SO2 and ash up to 20 km. The second eruption started at 04:00 UTC on Jan 15 and produced a multi-layered eruption cloud with stratospheric injection up to a maximum altitude of ~48 km (based on cloud temperatures and OMPS Limb profiler data) and a lower-level umbrella cloud around the tropopause. Based on the westward dispersion of the SO2, most of the SO2 was injected into the stratospheric cloud. The latest OMPS-LP data also indicate aerosol heights of 28-30 km. It appears that the high-level stratospheric cloud was no longer being actively fed by ~10:00 UTC (possibly earlier), so injecting 400 kt SO2 to 28 km over 6 hours is a reasonable first guess. The tropopause-level eruption continued for longer but did not seem to contain much SO2.
Wolf Volcano, Galapagos Islands January 7, 2022
Jan 8
Jan 7
 
Wolf volcano, the tallest mountain on the Galapagos Islands, erupted late in the day locally spewing ash up to 3793 meters (12,444 ft).
   ↓2021 ↓      
Fukutoku-Oba-No-Ba, Marianas Islands, Japan August 13, 2021
Aug 13
Aug 14
 
A new island is created in Japan with an ash cloud rising to 20 km. Fukutoku-Oba-No-Ba is a submarine volcano that erupted on Aug 13, 2021 2100 UTC.
Nyiragongo, DR Congo May 22, 2021
Mar 23
 
Mt Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo began erupting on Saturday, May 22, sending lava flows down the mountain toward the city of Goma and entering the city on May 23. At least 15 people have been killed. The lava flows have destroyed numerous houses. In an effort to evacuate the area, 3,000-5,000 residents fled to the nearby country of Rwanda. Volcanic SO2 emissions have declined since the Maww eruption - this is consistent with magma draining from the volcano into fissures on the flanks.
Soufrière, St Vincent Island Apr 9, 2021
Apr 9
Apr 10
Apr 11
 
Soufrière began erupting at 1241 UTC and again at 1900 UTC. The last time was 42 years.
Reykjanes, Iceland Mar 19, 2021
Mar 22
 
Reykjanes began erupting on March 19 for the first time in 1200 years.
   ↓2020 ↓      
Anak Krakatau, Java Apr 10, 2020
Apr 11
Apr 12
Apr 13
 
Anak Krakatau started erupting on during the night of April 10, 2020.
   ↓2019 ↓    
Whakaari, White Island, New Zealand Dec 09, 2019
Dec 11
 
Eruption started around 0209 UTC (0209pm local time) on 12/9/2019 with ash rising to 3.6 km (12,000 ft).
Ubinas, Peru Jul 19, 2019
Jul 24
Jul 19-22
Eruption started around 0735 UTC (0335 local time) on 7/19/2019 with ash risoing to 12.2 km (40,000 ft). Erupting again on 7/23/2019 with ash emissions rising to 9.3 km (31,000 feet).
Ulawun, Papau New Guinea Jun 26, 2019
Jun 26-Jul 15
Eruption started around 0700 UTC (0300 local time) on 6/26/2019 with ash rising to 19 km (62,000 ft).
Raikoke, Kurile Islands, Kamchatka Jun 21, 2019
Jun 22
Jun 23
Jun 24
Jun 21-Jul 16
Eruption started at 1750 UTC on 6/21/2019. Emissions rose to 13.1 km (43,000 feet).