Earth Engine Volcanoes

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a nice New Years Eve as you read this. Last month, I heard that Google had updated its Earth Engine Timelapse tool to include Landsat images right up to 2016. If you haven't heard of Earth Engine, it's an incredible platform developed for the analysis of geospatial datasets. The Timelapse feature on the website means you can watch how the Earth has changed over 30 years. This includes watching cities expanding, lakes and glaciers shrinking, or, as I will show in this post, how volcanoes can come to life and shape our planet.

So for this post, I have browsed through the Timelapse tool to bring you some of the best examples of volcanic activity that you can see. A lot of credit should also go to David Pyle, who produced a similar post way back in 2013.

Enjoy!

Note to mobile users: Unfortunately the Earth Engine Timelapse feature has not yet been optimised for mobile browsers. I highly recommend you read this post on a desktop browser.

Nabro, Eritrea

This volcano, which sits smack in the middle of the Afar rift in East Africa, is not the first volcano which comes to mind when people think of spectacular eruptions. However, as you might see from the timelapse below, its 2011 eruption certainly made a mark on the landscape. 

Soufrière Hills, Montserrat

This volcano, which has been active since 1995, has clearly made a huge mark on the island of Montserrat in the West Indies. Multiple phases of dome growth, accompanied by large explosions, dome collapses and pyroclastic density currents, have forced two-thirds of the island to evacuate, including the old capital on the west coast. In the timelapse below, you can clearly see the effect of the activity, particularly how the coast has been extended on the western and southern margins by deposits of dome collapses.

Kilaeua, Hawaii

The most active volcano on Hawaii has certainly made a mark on Big Island, with almost continuous activity during the timelapse. The clearest indication of this is on the Eastern Rift Zone, where lava flows slowly inundate the landscape with black lava flows. If you look carefully enough, you can also see the new lava lake form in the summit caldera, as well as the pitch black deposits from a recent overflow.

Unzen, Japan

This volcano in Japan was active from 1990 to 1995, producing a huge unstable lava dome and thousands of pyroclastic density currents from repeated dome collapses. In the timelapse below, you can clearly see why thousands of local residents were forced to evacuate the area. What is also interesting is seeing the lahar defenses being progressively built westwards along the eastern limb of the pyroclastic deposits.

El Chichon, Mexico

One of the largest eruptions of the 20th Century took place at this volcano in southern Mexico. However, as the eruption took place in 1982, we can only see how the landscape has quickly recovered from the devastating eruption. It's also interesting to watch how a river progrades into a lake in the west because of all the ash deposited on the area. Compare and contrast this with the more well known recovery of the area around Mount St Helens after its eruption in 1980. 

Chaiten, Chile

In 2008, one of the largest eruptions in recent years took place at what was an unimpressive volcano in Chile. In the timelapse below, you can clearly see the huge amount of ash deposited over the local area, as well as hints of the recovery of the area in the 8 years since.

Pyeuhue Cordon Caulle, Chile

Staying in Chile, another of the largest eruptions in recent times took place at this volcano in 2011. You can also clearly see the large black rhyolitic lava flow that oozed out of the vent in the centre of the edifice.

Pinatubo, Philippines

This devastating VEI 6 eruption in 1991 left a huge mark on Luzon Island in the Philippines. Massive pyroclastic flows, ash deposits, lahar deposits, and a new summit caldera are clearly seen in the timelapse. It's also interesting to note how visible the deposits still are in 2016, 25 years after the eruption.

Sinabung, Indonesia

This Indonesian volcano has been very active in recent years, with its first eruption in recent times in 2010, and very active lava dome growth activity since 2013. This activity has displaced many thousands of local people from the area and looking at the timelapse below it's easy to see why. The deposits from the pyroclastic density currents since 2013 have left a huge mark on the local landscape. 

Miyakejima, Japan

This volcanic island, south of Tokyo, experienced a relatively large eruption in 2000. One of the key aspects of this eruption was a summit caldera collapse, which is clearly seen in the timelapse below. It's one of the clearest examples of this kind of activity that I have found in the Earth Engine.

Zubair group, Yemen

I've shown you plenty of examples of the destructive nature of volcanoes, but now I can show you a clear example of how volcanoes can also create new land. This group of volcanic islands in the Red Sea has been joined by two new islands in recent years. If you watch the timelapse carefully, you can spot islands in the north-west and the centre popping out of nowhere. See also Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in the Pacific.

Honourable mentions:

Merapi, Indonesia
Holuhraun, Iceland
Volcán de Colima, Mexico
Santiaguito, Guatemala
Ol Doniyo Lengai, Tanzania