Eruption at Sangeang Api Grounds Flights Across Indonesia and Australia

Aqua/MODIS image of the Sangeang Api ash plume, spreading to the southeast on May 31, 2014. Image: NASA. Quick update on the Sangeang Api eruption. The ash from continued explosions at the Indonesian volcano has halted flights across a swath of cities in the region, including much of Bali and south to Darwin in Australia. The plume of brown as is clearly seen in today's Aqua MODIS image (see above), spreading both to the southeast and east from the volcano - and the Darwin VAAC advisory for air travel reflects this widespread ash across many flight levels used for commercial traffic. The ash plume itself is clearly seen in the OMPS image (see below) that categorizing aerosols (like volcanic gases) in the atmosphere -- so, this suggests that there is a significant amount of new magma involved if there is a strong sulfur dioxide (and other volcanic gases) signal. You ...