Activity at Raung Volcano

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July 21, 2015JPEG

Another burst of volcanic activity from Mount Raung on the Indonesian island of Java prompted authorities to temporarily close airports in Bali due to concerns about volcanic ash. Volcanic ash can cause extensive damage and failures in jet engines. This is the third time this month that Bali’s airport has been forced to close due to volcanic activity, according to news reports.

On July 21, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a natural-color view of a plume of ash and volcanic gases trailing away from Raung. MODIS acquired images of the eruption on July 20 and July 19 as well.

Mount Raung is a stratovolcano that has erupted at least 13 times in the past 25 years, according to records kept by the Smithsonian Global Volcanism program. The summit stands 3,332 meters (10,932 feet) above sea level and is capped by steep caldera that is 3 kilometers (2 miles) in diameter.

NASA image (top) by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Adam Voiland and Michael Carlowicz.