(By Ernesto Cooke) –Kingstown, St Vincent – New satellite imagery taken on April 10 2021, shows what one volcanologist described as a new vent at St Vincent’s La Soufriere volcano.
According to MTU Volcnalogist Dr Simon Carn says the images were captured by Capella Space SAR satellites.
In a Tweet, Carn said; “Wow, amazing view of morphological change in the La Soufrière crater from Capellaspace satellite radar on April 10, Looks like the recent eruptive activity has opened up a large new vent, and the 1979 and 2020-21 lava domes are gone or buried”.
The Caribbean island of St Vincent was plunged into darkness at 1 am on Sunday, April 11, as massive eruptions occurred at La Soufriere volcano.
In another Tweet, Simon said that an explosion at La Soufriere at 05:00 UTC on April 10 looked stronger and generated significant lightning seen in satellite data with GLM Energy Density.
Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) VIIRS Day/Night Band (05:12 UTC) might have captured the power outage on St. Vincent just after LaSoufrière’s explosion at 05:00 UTC on April 11.
Before Explosion (White Patches Indicate Lights)
After Explosion
In 2018 Capella Space launched the United States’ first commercial SAR satellite, “Denali”, in its development of a constellation capable of 24/7 all-weather monitoring of the planet.
In 2020 the company launched “Sequoia, ” proving that the United States could produce the highest quality commercial SAR imagery in a fraction of traditional SAR satellite manufacturers’ time and cost.
The company was founded in 2016.
Whats The Latest On La Soufriere
On Sunday, in addition to the ash fall, there is now evidence that pyroclastic flows occur with La Soufriere’s eruptions, according to Geologist Richard Robertson.
Robertson said the instruments show that La Soufriere’s activity is not waning; there might be a break and then another period of the current activity.
“The ongoing activity and pattern are similar to the 1902 eruption, it means that the eruptions will cause more damage and destruction, but it also means that you have a safe place in the south of the country”, Robertson said.
Eruptions continue at La Soufriere today; loud rumblings were heard in the capital city, Kingstown, in the South of the island.
