Hot spot detected by satellite

A thermal anomaly has been detected on Mount Michael on Saunders Island as seen in today's data from the MODVOLC website. This 9 times out of 10 proves that volcanic activity of some kind is going on. As the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited and very rarely visited, it is very unlikely that this thermal anomaly which was detected in satellite data could be connected to human activity.

Thermal anomaly on Mount Michael as seen in satellite data. SOURCE: MODVOLC.

Clear indicator that an eruption occurred

In a satellite image from 26th August 2015 obtained from the Earth Explorer website, I noticed that the east flank of Mount Michael volcano was stained grey which strongly indicates that an eruption took place. I am under the opinion that this was ashfall from an eruption which may have took place maybe a few days to a week ago.

Ash stained east slope of the volcano on Saunders Island. SOURCE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

Dark area on Saunders Island

In the satellite image from 24th August 2015 a dark patch appears around the summit area of Mount Michael along with a dark strip which appears to originate from the dark patch and ending at the eastern side of the island. Although most of the dark patch could be the shadow from the peak, it looks as though something was happening and I wouldn't rule out an eruption.

Ash emission on 24th August 2015: SOURCE: NASA.

New emission detected

Satellite image from the 26th May 2015 shows what is likely to be an emission originating from the crater of Mount Michael on Saunders Island. It would not surprise me if that was an eruption because the plume stands out against the clouds in the area and it looks like there may be some ash content there. At first the plume drifts towards the southeast before being blown east-southeast. There is also some faint colour difference in the plume compared to the clouds around.

Possible eruption on 26th May 2015?. SOURCE: NASA.

Dark strip on Mount Michael

The satellite image of 1st May 2015 shows what appears to be a dark strip on Mount Michael plus some kind of emission drifting northeast.

What appears to be a dark strip and a possible emission in this mostly cloudy image of Saunders Island from 1st May 2015. IMAGE: NASA.

Possible plume and ash

Satellite image from 19th April 2015 on the EOSDIS website showed a clear view of Saunders Island and what appeared to be a plume rising from Mount Michael Volcano. As in most cases, the satellite image wasn't clear enough to determine whether or not it was an eruption plume.

On the Earth Explorer website, a satellite image of Saunders Island from the 20th April 2015 showed what was mostly a cloudy day but the southwest portion of the island was visible. It showed what appeared to be a cloud with some possible ash content immediately to the west-southwest of the summit area of Mount Michael drifting southwest bound.

Darkened strip to the northeast of the summit area of Mount Michael, was it an ash plume? 19th April 2015. IMAGE: NASA.

Possible ash drifting WSW-SW? 20th April 2015. IMAGE: Landsat 8/USGS/NASA.

Darkened area on Mount Michael

A darkened area was visible on the summit area of Mount Michael in an image from 3rd April 2015. In images from 22nd March and 2nd April the darkened area was also visible.

I am under the opinion at this point that this could be no more than increased surface temperatures at the crater area. The coastal areas around Saunders Island is also free of snow and ice.

Darkened area at the summit of Mount Michael is visible in this image from 3rd April 2015. SOURCE: NASA.