GAIA LIVES!
Volcanic ash meets Saharan Air Layer in unique display over La Palma
Nathan Howes
The Weather Network
Mother Nature can toil in mysterious ways to create a work of art out of something that appears to be nothing out of the ordinary.
These cool looking cloud rings have some very special ingredients
In the case of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain, a stunning cloud ripple recently formed above it amid the ongoing eruptions.
The Volcanology Institute (INVOLCAN) observed a rise in explosive activity on Oct. 2, and in the midst of the elevated activity, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a unique image showing a dense plume of ash streaming south just two days later.
Mother Nature can toil in mysterious ways to create a work of art out of something that appears to be nothing out of the ordinary.
These cool looking cloud rings have some very special ingredients
In the case of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain, a stunning cloud ripple recently formed above it amid the ongoing eruptions.
The Volcanology Institute (INVOLCAN) observed a rise in explosive activity on Oct. 2, and in the midst of the elevated activity, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a unique image showing a dense plume of ash streaming south just two days later.
SEE ALSO: Take a photo tour of the Canary Islands, a region shaped by volcanoes
According to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, the plume soared to three kilometres in the air on Oc. 4, creating a hazard to aircraft nearby. Even though the activity spiked, volcanologists still assessed Cumbre Vieja’s volatile state as moderate -- garnering a 2 out of 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI).
According to NASA's Earth Observatory, the bull’s-eye-shaped cloud resulted from a rising column of superheated ash and gases -- known as the eruption column.
According to the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, the plume soared to three kilometres in the air on Oc. 4, creating a hazard to aircraft nearby. Even though the activity spiked, volcanologists still assessed Cumbre Vieja’s volatile state as moderate -- garnering a 2 out of 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI).
According to NASA's Earth Observatory, the bull’s-eye-shaped cloud resulted from a rising column of superheated ash and gases -- known as the eruption column.
© Provided by The Weather Network(NASA)
The floating pillar of water vapour and other gases arose rapidly upward until it clashed with a drier, warmer layer of the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) at roughly 5.3 kilometres altitude, according to INVOLCAN.
"A handful of incredibly unique ingredients all came together to create an amazing display on the Spanish island of La Palma as an incredibly active volcano erupted," said Jessie Uppal, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
The abnormally warm air situated atop a temperature inversion acted like a lid, stopping the volcanic plume from going any higher. As a result, it just levelled out and spread horizontally.
The floating pillar of water vapour and other gases arose rapidly upward until it clashed with a drier, warmer layer of the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) at roughly 5.3 kilometres altitude, according to INVOLCAN.
"A handful of incredibly unique ingredients all came together to create an amazing display on the Spanish island of La Palma as an incredibly active volcano erupted," said Jessie Uppal, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
The abnormally warm air situated atop a temperature inversion acted like a lid, stopping the volcanic plume from going any higher. As a result, it just levelled out and spread horizontally.
© Provided by The Weather Network(Daniel Lopez/Storyful)
"We know warm air naturally rises into the atmosphere where the cooler air is surrounding it. This is exactly how we get the development of thunderstorms, but in this case, we have an eruptive volcano," says Uppal.
The inversion is a layer within the atmosphere that temperatures typically increases with height, Uppal said, and that's why "we see that column of volcano plume stop right there and ripple its way out."
"Since volcanic eruptions typically have natural ebbs and flows in their intensity, pulses in the upward flow of the volcanic column created concentric gravity waves as they hit the temperature inversion and spread outward. The process is similar to the way a stone dropped in a pond creates ripples that spread outward," NASA's Earth Observatory explained.
"We know warm air naturally rises into the atmosphere where the cooler air is surrounding it. This is exactly how we get the development of thunderstorms, but in this case, we have an eruptive volcano," says Uppal.
The inversion is a layer within the atmosphere that temperatures typically increases with height, Uppal said, and that's why "we see that column of volcano plume stop right there and ripple its way out."
"Since volcanic eruptions typically have natural ebbs and flows in their intensity, pulses in the upward flow of the volcanic column created concentric gravity waves as they hit the temperature inversion and spread outward. The process is similar to the way a stone dropped in a pond creates ripples that spread outward," NASA's Earth Observatory explained.
© Provided by The Weather Network
The good news about the particular eruption that yielded the picturesque sight was its lack of energy to send large amounts of ash and gases into the stratosphere, NASA said, where it can have "strong and lasting effects on weather and climate."
With files from Jessie Uppal, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
Follow Nathan Howes on Twitter.
The good news about the particular eruption that yielded the picturesque sight was its lack of energy to send large amounts of ash and gases into the stratosphere, NASA said, where it can have "strong and lasting effects on weather and climate."
With files from Jessie Uppal, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
Follow Nathan Howes on Twitter.
Volcanic lava in Spain's La Palma engulfs more houses, land
Lava burns buildings following the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, in Tacande
Silvio Castellanos and Juan Medina
Sat, October 9, 2021
LA PALMA, Spain (Reuters) -Red-hot lava engulfed the land Jose Roberto Sanchez inherited from his parents on Saturday and lightning flashed around the rim of the volcano that has been erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma for almost three weeks.
There were 37 seismic movements on Saturday, with the largest measuring 4.1, the Spanish National Geological Institute said, but La Palma's airport reopened after being closed since Thursday because of ash, Spanish air traffic operator Aena said. All other Canary Islands airports are open.
The magma streaming down the hillside from the Cumbre Vieja volcano destroyed at least four village buildings, some of nearly 1,150 buildings and surrounding land destroyed since the volcano began erupting on Sept. 19.
"The memories of my parents, the inheritance I had there, it’s all gone," Sanchez told Reuters of the land his parents owned in Todoque in the west of the island.
Lava has engulfed 493 hectares (1,218 acres) of land, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca) organisation, said.
Some people, like Clara Maria, 70, who also lives in Todoque, have so far escaped the impact.
"The lava has not yet reached my house. (It) was 50 years of sacrifice, stone by stone we built it. I have hope and faith that it will be saved," she said.
About 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on La Palma, which has about 83,000 inhabitants.
Lightning flashes were seen near the eruption early on Saturday. A study published in 2016 by the journal Geophysical Research Letters found lightning can be produced during volcanic eruptions because the collision of ash particles creates an electrical charge.
Airlines flying to the Canary Islands were advised to load extra fuel in case planes had to change course or delay landing because of ash, said a spokesman for Enaire, which controls navigation in Spanish airspace.
(Reporting by Silvio Castellanos, Juan Medina, Graham KeeleyEditing by Jason Neely, Frances Kerry and Philippa Fletcher)
Silvio Castellanos and Juan Medina
Sat, October 9, 2021
LA PALMA, Spain (Reuters) -Red-hot lava engulfed the land Jose Roberto Sanchez inherited from his parents on Saturday and lightning flashed around the rim of the volcano that has been erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma for almost three weeks.
There were 37 seismic movements on Saturday, with the largest measuring 4.1, the Spanish National Geological Institute said, but La Palma's airport reopened after being closed since Thursday because of ash, Spanish air traffic operator Aena said. All other Canary Islands airports are open.
The magma streaming down the hillside from the Cumbre Vieja volcano destroyed at least four village buildings, some of nearly 1,150 buildings and surrounding land destroyed since the volcano began erupting on Sept. 19.
"The memories of my parents, the inheritance I had there, it’s all gone," Sanchez told Reuters of the land his parents owned in Todoque in the west of the island.
Lava has engulfed 493 hectares (1,218 acres) of land, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca) organisation, said.
Some people, like Clara Maria, 70, who also lives in Todoque, have so far escaped the impact.
"The lava has not yet reached my house. (It) was 50 years of sacrifice, stone by stone we built it. I have hope and faith that it will be saved," she said.
About 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on La Palma, which has about 83,000 inhabitants.
Lightning flashes were seen near the eruption early on Saturday. A study published in 2016 by the journal Geophysical Research Letters found lightning can be produced during volcanic eruptions because the collision of ash particles creates an electrical charge.
Airlines flying to the Canary Islands were advised to load extra fuel in case planes had to change course or delay landing because of ash, said a spokesman for Enaire, which controls navigation in Spanish airspace.
(Reporting by Silvio Castellanos, Juan Medina, Graham KeeleyEditing by Jason Neely, Frances Kerry and Philippa Fletcher)
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