Three thermal anomalies inside the crater of Michael Volcano

Satellite image from 24th December 2019 shows three anomalies present inside the summit crater of Mount Michael, Saunders Island. It is an indicator that the volcano is pretty much active and that there maybe currently 3 active vents present on the crater floor. Images from 29th November and 2nd December 2019 also show similar anomalies suggesting that the volcano became active sometime in November.

Thermal anomaly present inside the crater of Mount Michael on 24th December. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Thermal anomaly present inside the crater of Mount Michael on 2nd December. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Thermal anomaly present inside the crater of Mount Michael on 29th November. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Extensive gas plume from Saunders Island

Satellite image from the 10th October 2019 shows an extensive white plume being emitted from Michael Volcano on Saunders Island and being blown in an east-southeasterly direction. There is no thermal anomaly present in the summit crater area which brings me to the opinion that it is just a gas plume.

Further images of Saunders Island from the 13th and 15th October 2019 show nothing more than degassing activity on Michael Volcano.

Extensive gas plume drifting ESE on 10th October 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Degassing activity on 13th October 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Degassing activity on 15th October 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Few more photos of the South Sandwich Islands volcanoes

Some of you may or may not recall a post I done earlier this year showing photos of the South Sandwich Islands volcanoes taken by a scientist on board the Discovery Expedition 99 voyage to South Georgia Island and the South Sandwich Islands.

Well this is a kind of belated post but another scientist, Chris Darby who was also aboard the same expedition that time had also gave me kind permission to share his pics.

All photos taken by Chris Darby, late February to early March 2019.

ZAVODOVSKI ISLAND

SAUNDERS ISLAND

THULE ISLAND

Quick Mt. Michael September satellite image updates

This is just a quick post so I'm able to catch up quicker, but below are some satellite images of activity on Mount Michael during September taken from the Sentinel-hub website. It's mostly about the plumes but one image shows a weak thermal anomaly inside the summit crater.

3rd September 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

8th September 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

15th September 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

28th September 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Strong earthquake hits South Sandwich Islands during late August

A strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the South Sandwich Islands on the 27th August 2019 at 23:55 UTC. The epicenter of the quake was reported to be about 131km south of Bristol Island with a depth of 16km.

6.6 magnitude earthquake on 27th August 2019. SOURCE: USGS.

Gas and ash plume on Mount Michael caught on satellite in August

Satellite image from 5th August 2019 shows a clear view of Saunders Island with what appears to be steam and gas emissions occupying the summit crater area of Mount Michael. Meanwhile, in an image from the 14th August 2019 a light greyish plume originating from the summit crater is seen drifting for a very short distance north-northeast suggesting a small eruption on Mount Michael.

What appears to be a small scale steam and gas emission on Mt. Michael, 5th August. SOURCE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

What appears to be a small eruption on Mt. Michael as of 14th August. SOURCE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

New scientific paper on Mount Michael

A new scientific paper about Mount Michael on Saunders Island has recently been released by Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. The article is about evidence of a lava lake which has been present inside the summit crater of Mount Michael volcano using satellite imagery and data and is titled "Evidence for a lava lake Mt. Michael volcano, Saunders Island (South Sandwich Islands) from Landsat, Sentinel-2, and ASTER satellite imagery".

If you would like to have a good read here is the link where you can download the paper from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027318305742

New photos of the South Sandwich Islands volcanoes

Earlier this year, a team of scientists went on the Discovery Expedition 99 voyage to South Georgia Island and the South Sandwich Islands to monitor the biodiversity there, the survey was part of the UK Blue Belt Programme with the aim to explore the deep sea communities of the South Sandwich Islands.

With kind permission, Marta Soeffker who was aboard the expedition ship has let me share the pics she taken of the South Sandwich volcanoes.

All photos taken by Marta Soeffker, late February to early March 2019.

ZAVODOVSKI ISLAND

SAUNDERS ISLAND

MONTAGU ISLAND

BRISTOL ISLAND

Quick Mt. Michael plume updates

This is just a quick post about satellite pics of plumes originating from Mount Michael on Saunders Island from April until mid May. No clear indicators of an eruption, just what appears to be likely degassing or aerosol plumes being blown in various directions by winds.

8th April 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

11th April 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

13th April 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

1st May 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

13th May 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

2 strong earthquakes occur 4 days apart

Two strong earthquakes have struck the South Sandwich Islands during early April 4 days apart.

The first strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 occurred on the 5th April 2019 at 16:14 UTC. The epicenter of the quake was reported to be about 94km north-northwest of Visokoi Island with a depth of 58.4km.

6.5 magnitude earthquake on 5th April 2019. SOURCE: USGS.

The second strong earthquake also with a magnitude of 6.5 occurred on the 9th April 2019 at 17:53 UTC. The epicenter of the quake was reported to be about 86km northeast of Bristol Island with a depth of 45.8km.

6.5 magnitude earthquake on 9th April 2019. SOURCE: USGS.

Mount Michael emits a dense white plume

In a satellite image from 24th March 2019 as viewed on Sentinel Hub, a dense white plume is seen originating from Mount Michael on Saunders Island then drifting northeast. While viewed on the Atmospheric Penetration filter, you could see that the plume is at it's most dense closer to the volcano while the aerosols look apparent towards the end of the plume. While it is not certain that an eruption is taking place, I wouldn't rule out that possibility and I wouldn't be surprised if the plume had some ash content.

False colour image from the 24th March showing a plume drifting northeast. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Activity persists on Michael Volcano into 2019

Two false colour Sentinel-2 images of Mount Michael on Saunders Island from the 15th February 2019 and 27th February 2019 shows that volcanic activity continues. In the image from 15th February, a thermal anomaly is present inside the summit crater suggesting a probable lava lake and a steam-and-gas plume is also present originating from the crater and drifting in a southeasterly direction. In the image from the 27th February, a steam-and-gas plume is present above the summit area suggesting that it was rising vertically. However, the view of the summit crater is obscured by the plume.

False colour image shows a thermal anomaly inside the summit crater of Mount Michael and a plume drifting southeast as of 15th February. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Another false colour image but from the 27th February showing what appears to be a vertically rising plume. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

Mount Michael active in the new year

Satellite image from the 1st January 2019 shows what appears to be slight ash deposits on the east-southeast flank of Michael Volcano, and in a false colour image from the same date a thermal anomaly is present inside the main summit crater.

It is an indicator that an eruption recently occurred at the volcano but it is hard to work when as the previous recent satellite images show cloud cover. But it is certain that there is currently some sort of activity going on.

Natural colour image shows slight ashfall on the ENE flank as of 1st January 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.

False colour image shows a thermal anomaly inside the summit crater as of 1st January 2019. SOURCE: Sentinel-2/Sentinel Hub.