Probing Kilauea’s Plume

  • Released Thursday, May 31, 2018
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These images, created using data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) on Terra, show the height of the sulfur-rich plume from Hawaii's Kilauea on May 6, 2018.

These images, created using data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) on Terra, show the height of the sulfur-rich plume from Hawaii's Kilauea on May 6, 2018.

Though Hawaii’s Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, the eruption took a dangerous turn on May 3, 2018, when several new fissure eruptions emerged in a residential neighborhood (Leilani Estates). These images show observations of the height of the
plume on May 6, 2018, from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite.



The top map represents the sulfur-rich plume represented in three dimensions as it moved downwind of the active fissures. The second image depicts the same data as a cross section, with the height of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea for comparison. The MISR data indicate that, on May 6, the top of the plume was injected to roughly 1.5 km (1 mi) above sea level, but then descended several hundred meters as it moved 140 km (90 mi) downwind. Winds blew the plume southwest along the coast, but over the ocean, away from where people live. Low plumes like this are closely watched because they can pose health hazards if harmful gases and particles move toward population centers.

For More Information

See NASA Earth Observatory

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Thursday, May 31, 2018.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 12:40 AM EST.

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