Image Credit & Copyright: Sigurður Stefnisson
Sunday, August 5, 2012
NASA Photo of the Day
July 30:
Ash and Lightning Above an Icelandic Volcano
Image Credit & Copyright: Sigurður Stefnisson
Explanation:
Why did the picturesque
2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland create so much ash?
Although the large
ash plume was not unparalleled in its abundance, its location was particularly
noticeable because it
drifted across such well-populated areas.
The
Eyjafjallajökull
volcano in southern Iceland began erupting on 2010 March 20,
with a second eruption starting under the center of a small glacier on 2010 April 14.
Neither eruption was unusually powerful.
The second eruption, however, melted a large amount of
glacial ice which then cooled and fragmented lava into gritty
glass particles that were carried up with the
rising volcanic plume.
Pictured above
during the second eruption,
lightning bolts illuminate
ash pouring out of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.
Image Credit & Copyright: Sigurður Stefnisson
Labels:
cool stuff
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