The Kizimen volcano has erupted in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, prompting NASA to release a photo of the erupting volcano seen from space.
The image of the snowy volcano was captured using the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) onboard NASA's Earth Observing — 1 Satellite (EO-1). It shows a plume of smoke spewing from the summit of the volcano, located 8,152 feet above ground, along with snow-covered lava flowing down the volcano's eastern flank.
Snowy volcanoes like the Kizimen can be especially destructive due to the potential of the melted snow to lubricate rocks, thereby resulting in strong debris flows that move quickly down mountains, destroying anything that stands in their way. But in the Kamchatka Peninsula, the volcano will probably only bother flying planes. Volcanic ash, which is essentially ground glass, can cause significant destruction to airplane engines.
The Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team set the Aviator Color Code for Kizimen to orange, indicating minor ash presence.
"Moderate seismic activity of the volcano continues," the update states. "Video and satellite data showed a growth of an extrusion at the volcano summit continues. Incandescence of the volcano summit, hot avalanches on the western and eastern volcanic flanks, and strong gas-steam activity accompany this process. Satellite data showed a thermal anomaly over the volcano."
A steep slope strata-volcano, Kizimen has been compared with the Mount St. Helens volcano in the U.S. state of Washington. It was dormant from 1929 to September 2009, when it exhibited an increase in temperatures, seismic activity, the formation of new fumaroles and ash emissions from the summit. In January 2011 a hotspot was detected and in February 2011 a major pyroclastic flow started after a huge column of ash was sent several miles high.
For more impressive views of Earth from space, check out some of the photos taken by Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station.
