Anak Krakatau eruption by Sentinel-3

This image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on 5 September, shows a plume from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a small volcanic island between Sumatra and Java that began spewing ash and lava on 4 September. The eruption disrupted weekend flights and caused cancellations at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which has since reopened.

In the image, a white plume of volcanic gases reaches high altitude—typically consisting mainly of water vapour, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide—while brown clouds of ash and debris drift at lower altitude. The image was acquired by the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), an imaging spectrometer with 21 distinct spectral bands, a spatial resolution of 300 m, and applications ranging from ocean ecosystem monitoring and agriculture support to estimates of atmospheric aerosols and clouds.

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission currently consists of two satellites, with a third due to launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 15 September at 03:21 CEST (22:21 local time on 14 September).