January 2003
EP TOMS and the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) both detected
a small SO2 cloud
over Vanuatu (SW Pacific) in early January. The source volcano is yet to be
identified but the cloud's location suggests that it originated from Lopevi or
Ambrym, both recently active.
December 2002
SO2 emissions from Nyiragongo were visible intermittently
throughout December, continuing into 2003. Nyiragongo's lava lake reappeared in
late November.
October-November 2002
EP TOMS tracked ash and SO2 emissions from Mt Etna beginning
on October 27 and continuing for 8 days. Subsequently, an eruption of El
Reventador in Ecuador on November 3 produced significant SO2 and ash
clouds, followed by several days of persistent SO2
emissions. EP TOMS also detected a persistent SO2 anomaly
associated with passive degassing at Nyiragongo (DR Congo).
September 2002
EP TOMS detected ash and SO2 produced by a small explosive eruption
of Ruang volcano, Sangihe Islands, Indonesia, on September 25.
August 2002
Unfortunately, as the Nyamuragira eruption continued into August, Earth Probe
TOMS entered Safe Hold Mode on August 2 at 0944 UTC, and collection of data was
interrupted. See the TOMS project news page for details. Data collection resumed
on August 12, meaning that TOMS unfortunately missed the latter part of the
Nyamuragira eruption and another eruption at Pago volcano, Papua New Guinea.
July 2002
After a relatively quiet 6 months another eruption has begun in the DR Congo.
This time the frequently active Nyamuragira (15 km NW of Nyiragongo) has
erupted and produced a substantial SO2
cloud. We will track this eruption as it continues.
June 2002
Poster presented at the AGU Chapman Conference on Volcanism and the Earth's
Atmosphere (Santorini, Greece, June 17-21) added to Library.
January 2002
Earth Probe TOMS detected a small amount of SO2 from the
eruption of Nyiragongo (DR Congo) on January 17. Despite the severity of the
eruption, relatively little SO2 seems to have been produced,
particularly compared to the SO2 clouds typically emitted by
neighbouring Nyamuragira during its eruptions. Click
here to see a comparison
between SO2 clouds from Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira (data
have been resampled). Also see our featured
story on NASA's Earth
Observatory
web page
December 2001
Poster presented at Origins, Emissions and Impacts of Volcanic Gases meeting
(Geological Society of London, UK, October 2001) added to Library.
September 2001
QuikTOMS, the fifth TOMS satellite to be launched, unfortunately failed to
achieve orbit on September 21. Click here for details.
August 2001
Earth Probe TOMS detected a small amount of SO2 in a volcanic cloud
produced during a collapse of the Soufriere Hills lava dome on Montserrat on
July 29. SO2 was detected NE of Puerto Rico on July 30, though no ash
was detected. EP TOMS also sensed a weak ash and SO2 plume from
Tungurahua (Ecuador) on August 6.
June 2001
Earth Probe TOMS did not detect any sulfur dioxide or aerosols from recent
eruptions of Lopevi (Vanuatu; 7/8 June), Manam (Papua New Guinea; 25 June) and
Mayon (Philippines; 24-25 June).
April 2001
Earth Probe TOMS detected sulfur dioxide in small eruption clouds from Ulawun
(Papua New Guinea) on April 30 and from Popocatépetl (Mexico) on April
29. See the archive for images.
31-March-00: Usu
The eruption of Usu (Japan) was investigated with Earth Probe TOMS.
The TOMS overpass at 02:10 UT (11:10 JST) on March 31, 2000 was prior to the phreatic eruption reported to begin at 13:10 JST.
No SO2 was observed by TOMS.
The high total ozone over the Usu region may be preventing detection of low level SO2 emissions; however, a stratospheric cloud would still be detected.
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For the latest eruption images from TOMS check out our archive.