Dark spot on Saunders Island in February

In a satellite image from 20th February 2016, a dark spot appears on Saunders Island which indicates that recent activity of some kind had taken place. This could be that Mount Michael had been going through an eruptive phase, or it could simply be elevated ground temperatures volcanic in origin.

Dark spot which appears on Mount Michael on 20th February. SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.

Dark patch on Saunders Island likely not activity?

Satellite image from 1st January 2016 shows a clear view of Saunders Island except for the summit area which was shrouded in clouds. It appears that the dark patch on the eastern side of the island is not linked to volcanic activity at all but rather that the snow and ice melted. When I checked out the Landsat 8 images of the other islands in the South Sandwich archipelago it turned out that they also have places which are devoid of snow and ice, the explanation for this is because it's summer down in the southern hemisphere while up in the northern hemisphere it is the opposite, winter. Because the summit area of Michael Volcano was shrouded in clouds in the image, it's not possible to determine what happened at the "Old Crater".

New Year's Day on Saunders Island. SOURCE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

Dark strip on Saunders Island

Satellite image from the 29th December 2015 shows what appears to be a dark strip on Saunders Island extending from the summit area of Michael Volcano to the eastern shore of the island. Based on the image posted in my last post, this suggests that a lava flow from an eruption may have occurred. To be able to determine whether it really is a lava flow, I need a clear image of Saunders Island from Landsat 8.

Has a lava flow occurred on Saunders Island? SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.

Also, an emission appears to have originated from Zavodovski Island in a satellite image from 28th December 2015.

What appears to be an emission from Zavodovski Island. SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.

Dark patch near the summit of Michael Volcano

In the satellite pic of Saunders Island from the 25th December 2015, a new dark patch is present at the "Old Crater" located immediately southeast of the summit crater on Michael Volcano. This suggests that some new activity had taken place on that part of the volcano. Judging from the colour of the dark patch through the mist, this suggests that (in my opinion) the activity may have been effusive or simply just new fumaroles. As the eastern half of the island is covered in clouds this cannot be clearly determined what took place there.

What appears to be some form of new activity just to the southeast of the summit crater. SOURCE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

Grey area on Saunders Island

In the satellite image of Saunders Island from the 23rd December 2015, I noticed what appears to be a grey area on the east side of the island extending from the volcano to the shoreline. Although it is not easy to explain for sure what it is, I'm not ruling out an ash stained slope or even a probable ash plume.

Notice the grey area on the east side of Saunders Island, is that ashfall? or even a probable ash plume? SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.

Oh and also, I've previously forgot to post an image of Saunders Island from the 23rd November 2015 covered in clouds but showing a vapour plume being emitted from Mount Michael.

Vapour emission from Mount Michael on 23rd November 2015. SOURCE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

Some possible December emissions

Some possible emissions look present in the satellite images of Saunders Island in images from 1st, 5th, and 19th December 2015. In the image from 1st December, there appears to be a white plume originating from the summit of Mount Michael and drifting west. In the image from 5th December, there appears to be a dirty white or light grey plume originating from the same area and drifting northeast. And in the image from 19th December, a white plume is drifting towards the west. It is not clear what exactly is going on due to the quality of the images.

Saunders Island 1st December 2015. SOURCE: Terra/MODIS/NASA.

Saunders Island 5th December 2015. SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.

Saunders Island 19th December 2015. SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.

Dark patch on Saunders Island Nov 2015

Satellite image from 20th November 2015 shows a clear dark patch on Saunders Island indicating possible activity at the summit area of Mount Michael. Whether this is related to volcanic activity or just high ground temperatures is unclear.

Dark patch indicating possible activity. SOURCE: Aqua/MODIS/NASA.