Montagu Island Eruption Heats Up

File this one under “Satellites as Field Equipment”.

New satellite images show that Montagu Island, a volcano in the South Sandwich Islands, has grown by 50 acres (0.2 square kilometers) in the last month as lava pours into the sea.

“Red hot lava has formed a molten river 90 meters wide that is moving fast, possibly several meters per second and extending the shoreline on the north side of the island,” said John Smellie of British Antarctic Survey (BAS). “This event is special because Montagu Island is mostly ice covered and it’s very rare that we get to make direct observations of eruptions under ice sheets.”

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