Series of powerful eruptions at Nishinoshima volcano, Japan

A series of powerful eruptions were recorded at Nishinoshima volcano over the past couple of days. On August 3, 2020, the Tokyo VAAC warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to 4 900 m (16 00 feet) altitude.

Volcanic activity surged in June 2020, with recurring explosions and lava flow ever since.

On July 30, Nishinoshima spewed volcanic ash plume up to 5 500 m (18 000 feet) altitude, which moved at 19 km/h (12 mph) in a southwest direction. 

Explosive activity continued into July 31 as the volcano emitted ash up to 5 800 m (19 000 feet) high, which traveled at 19 km/h (12 mph) in a southern direction.

VAAC Tokyo recorded another explosive activity on August 2, with the volcanic ash plume reaching approximately 4 900 m (16 000 feet) altitude, moving at 19 km/h (12 mph) into the western direction.

 

#Nishinoshima volcano near Japan continues to erupt huge plumes of ash. See more imagery here: https://t.co/R7CBdUartn pic.twitter.com/MmZ04WVvQe

— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) July 31, 2020

最大級の噴火続く西之島https://t.co/0RFEetTYy2

2013年の噴火再開以来、最大規模の噴火を続ける東京・小笠原諸島の西之島。火口から高さ約3千メートルに達する灰色の煙が噴き出し、上空の薄い雲を突き抜けて南方向にたなびいている様子が30日、本社機「あすか」から観察できました。（人） pic.twitter.com/tTKZMPKiyn

— 朝日新聞 映像報道部 (@asahi_photo) July 31, 2020

 

Image credit: NASA/NOAA Aqua/MODIS, Acquired July 31, 2020.

Image credit: NASA/NOAA Aqua/MODIS, Acquired August 1, 2020.

Image credit: NASA/NOAA Aqua/MODIS, Acquired August 3, 2020.

 

La erupción del volcán Nishinoshima
Japón ayer. Vía: CDN pic.twitter.com/yCytPzUvdk

— Estación Altamira Caracas (@pluvaltamira) July 31, 2020

#volcan #volcano #Nishinoshima Activité explosive toujours exceptionnelle; panache de cendres en dispersion sur plus de 450 km/Exceptional explosive activity is ongoing; dispersion of the ash plume as far as 450 km https://t.co/lom6S3y36Q pic.twitter.com/XTPbc1eLl4

— CultureVolcan (@CultureVolcan) August 1, 2020

Spectacular view of Nishinoshima erupting over the last two days. pic.twitter.com/GIvsiM3N3M

— Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) August 1, 2020

ICYMI – #Japan‘s #Nishinoshima volcano has been erupting nearly continuously for over a week! This loop shows the past few days via 10-minute Himawari-8 images tracking the ash cloud. View a full 7 days on the CIMSS Satellite Blog at https://t.co/IA8By6Hd4S pic.twitter.com/hg7HiG8uJC

— UW-Madison CIMSS (@UWCIMSS) August 3, 2020

Typhoon Hagupit swirls as Nishinoshima erupts.

Seen in GeoColor: https://t.co/9zYm9ankJj. pic.twitter.com/yWBJqgua2f

— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) August 3, 2020

 

Geological summary

The small island of Nishinoshima was enlarged when several new islands coalesced during an eruption in 1973-74. Another eruption that began offshore in 2013 completely covered the previously exposed surface and enlarged the island again. Water discoloration has been observed on several occasions since.

The island is the summit of a massive submarine volcano that has prominent satellitic peaks to the S, W, and NE. The summit of the southern cone rises to within 214 m (702 feet) of the sea surface 9 km (5.6 miles) SSE. (GVP)

Featured image credit: NASA/NOAA Aqua/MODIS

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