Sicily’s Mount Etna released a thick plume of volcanic ash on November 24, 2006. According to news reports, the volcanic activity forced an overnight closure of the Fontanarossa Airport, the main airport in eastern Sicily. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture on November 24. In this image, a dark reddish-brown plume blows away from the volcano’s summit toward the southeast, gradually dissipating as it goes. At the summit, MODIS has detected a hotspot, indicating surface temperatures much warmer than the surroundings. The bright blue color of the southern coastal waters off the island are probably due to sediment either churned up by wave action or emptied into the sea by heavy runoff from rivers and streams. The island experienced storms with heavy rain in the days preceding the image. Sediment is reflective, and it colors the shallower waters turquoise.
Jeff Schmaltz - NASA
2006-11-24
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