Simmering Eruption of Nevado Del Ruiz

Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, infamous for its deadly lahars, sprang to life in March 2012. Located in the Colombian Andes, the volcano was frequently active during the past 1,000 years, most recently in 2010. Observers first reported earthquakes near the volcano, followed by emissions of volcanic gases and small amounts of ash. By early June sulfur dioxide emissions had increased, and ash reached as far as 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the volcano.

This natural-color satellite image shows a burst of ash from Nevado del Ruiz on June 6, 2012. It was acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite.

1.   References

2.   Global Volcanism Program. (2012, June 6). Nevado del Ruiz Accessed June 7, 2012.

3.   Klemetti, Erik. Eruptions Blog. Eruption Update for June 4, 2012: Popocatépetl, Nevado del Ruiz, Kilauea and more.Accessed June 7, 2012.

Dust Storm over the Persian Gulf June 6, 2012

On June 2, 2012, a dust storm struck southeastern Iraq. Winds blew fine sediments toward the southeast, over the Persian Gulf, and into northeastern Saudi Arabia. Winds also kicked up streamers of dust in Qatar. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image the same day.

Although most of the countries affected by the dust enjoyed some clear skies outside of the storm, dust completely obliterated Kuwait. On June 4, Kuwait Times reported that the storm had paralyzed the country, with visibility reduced to less than 500 meters (1,600 feet). Dust storm activity was expected to continue, although it was expected to benefit residents by lowering recent high temperatures.

1.   References

2.   Fattahova, N. (2012, June 4) Activities paralyzed as dust storm hits Kuwait - Weather to help reduce temperature.Kuwait Times. Accessed June 4, 2012.

Sor Kaydak, Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan

The Sor Kaydak is a salt marsh that leads into the northeastern bulb of the Caspian Sea. This land depression is occasionally inundated by water from the Caspian Sea, as both the marsh and the Sea lie at the same elevation—29 meters below global sea level. They are separated by a low bar of land that is just 1–2 meters high. The central 50 kilometers of the 180 kilometer-long marsh depression is shown in this astronaut photograph from the International Space Station.

Water in the marsh takes on different colors—from brown to pink to light green, moving northeast to southwest—as a result of the interplay of water depth and the resident organisms such as algae. Algae color varies depending on water temperature and salinity.

Irregular gray areas (top left) are wet zones between low sand dunes. These inter-dune flats are whitened with salt that comes from the evaporation of Caspian Sea water. (The Sea is just beyond the top left of the image.) The jagged line following the colored water is the limit of the wetting zone (or perimeter), an irregular zone influenced by wind and the depth of water in the marsh.

Small cliffs mark the eastern margin of the depression that contains Sor Kaydak. Above the cliffs, a plateau—about 200 meters above the salt marsh, 160 meters above global sea level—extends eastward for hundreds of kilometers. Here the plateau is occupied by a dense pattern of well heads, which appear as a geometric pattern of tan dots. By contrast, the west margin (image left) rises less than 10 meters above the marsh.

The straight line visible at image center is a pipeline built to take oil to a terminal on the Caspian shore 100 kilometers northwest of the area shown here.

Astronaut photograph ISS031-E-30896 was acquired on May 11, 2012, with a Nikon D2Xs digital camera using a 180 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 31 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by M. Justin Wilkinson, Jacobs/ESCG at NASA-JSC.

Instrument: 

Colorful Lakes of Kelimutu Volcano, Indonesia

Kelimutu is a volcano with three summit lakes on Flores Island, Indonesia. The lakes are typically different colors and often change colors. These color variations are though to be caused by fumaroles below the lakes which causes changes inwater chemistry.

Looking Below the Clouds of Venus

Looking Below the Clouds of Venus
June 4, 2012 | NASA

“Venus is a fascinating yet horrendously extreme place all at once. Although the surface is hot enough to melt lead due to its runaway greenhouse atmosphere, in many respects it is Earth’s twin.” Quoted from the NASA press release

The 2012 hurricane season in North and Central America arrives with a muddled outlook.

The 2012 hurricane season in North and Central America arrives with a muddled outlook. Sea surface temperatures are not particularly warm or cool, and the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is drifting in a neutral state that NASA climate scientist Bill Patzert playfully calls “La Nada.”

The map above shows sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and tropical eastern Pacific on May 30, 2012. The map was built with data from the Microwave Optimally Interpolated SST product, a NASA-supported effort at Remote Sensing Systems. Researchers combine observations and analyses from NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission and Aqua and Terra satellites, as well as the U.S. Navy’s WindSAT instrument on the Coriolis satellite (operated jointly with the Air Force).

Shades of blue depict water temperatures below 27.8 degrees Celsius (about 82 degrees Fahrenheit), while yellows, oranges, and reds depicts waters above that threshold. Scientists generally agree that waters above that temperature are needed to build and sustain hurricanes, though there are exceptions. Of course, measurements of sea surface temperature account for only the top few millimeters of the ocean, and the amount of heat stored at greater depths (which is harder to measure) can also be a factor in hurricane development. So SSTs do not tell the whole story, but they are a fair predictor of the readiness of the ocean to sustain tropical storms.

“The waters look on the slightly cool side across some of the ‘main development region (MDR)’—the tropical band extending over the east and central Atlantic off Africa,” noted Jeff Halvorson, a hurricane researcher at the University of Maryland–Baltimore County. “Whether this will persist for several months as we get into the high season, I don't know.”

The official start of hurricane season is June 1, though four named tropical storms in May—Alberto and Beryl in the Atlantic, Aletta and Bud in the Pacific—didn't wait for the calendar. The Hurricane Research Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on May 24, 2012, that it is expecting a near-normal season, with nine to fifteen named storms and four to eight hurricanes. According to NOAA, an average season between 1980 to 2010 produced 12 named storms with six hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.

“We shouldn't be fooled by the storms that have already developed off the southeast U.S. in May,” Halvorson said. “Development can and does happen this early—albeit infrequently—and these developments are almost always not far off the U.S. mainland. They have little to do with what is coming off Africa and streaming across the MDR. So these early home-grown storms are not necessarily a predictor of the August to October season, which is dominated by Cape Verde storms.”

Meteorologists often look to ENSO for a sense of whether atmospheric weather patterns will promote or tamp down hurricane formation. In general, researchers believe that El Nino reduces hurricane activity and La Nina promotes it. But the science on the matter is not really settled, and it may be that ENSO affects the number but not necessarily the intensity of storms.

La Nina just ended earlier this spring, and the next El Nino may be some months off. “The equatorial Pacific is neutral, with no El Nino developing...not even a hint,” said Patzert, who is based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “If El Nino builds, I think it will be late and whimpy.”

In the eastern Pacific, NOAA is calling for a near-normal or below-normal season. “Forecasters estimate a 70 percent chance of 12 to 18 named storms, which includes 5 to 9 hurricanes.”

Regardless of the predictions, the key to hurricane season is vigilance. “The important issue is hurricane preparedness along the coasts,” said Patzert. “All it takes is one in your neighborhood to wreak havoc. Listen to the National Hurricane Center, know your evacuation routes, and be super prepared.”

1.   References

2.   NASA Earth Observatory. (n.d.) Global Maps: Sea Surface Temperature.

3.   NASA Earth Observatory. (2010, June 3) Sea Surface Temperatures at the Start of 2010 Hurricane Season.

4.   NOAA (2012, May 24) NOAA predicts a near-normal 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. Accessed May 31, 2012.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using WindSat and MODIS data from Chelle Gentemann and Frank Wentz, Remote Sensing Systems. Caption by Michael Carlowicz.

Instrument: 

Coriolis - WindSat