Earth from Space - Image Description

Steam Plume at Gaua Volcano, Vanuatu

The approximately 20 kilometer in diameter Gaua Island, also known as Santa Maria Island, is the exposed upper cone and summit of an approximately 3000 meter high and 40 kilometers in diameter stratovolcano, most of which is submerged beneath the Pacific Ocean. The island is part of the Vanuatu Archipelago, a group of volcanic islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean governed by the Republic of Vanuatu. The most recently reported eruption activity (according to the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program) consisted of a steam plume that was observed on April 29, 2013. This astronaut photograph records subsequent steam emissions observed from the International Space Station on May 31, 2013.

The steam plume extends east-southeast from its likely source at Mount Gharat (also spelled Garat or Garet), a historically active cinder cone located along the southwest flank of a 6 x 9 kilometer collapsed summit caldera. Gaua is one of several volcanoes actively monitored by the Vanuatu Geohazards Observatory. The dark blue-green waters of Lake Letas, formed within the caldera, are visible at image center. The majority of Santa Maria Island is covered in green vegetation, with areas directly west and south of Mount Gharat covered with grey ash deposits. Patchy cloud cover is visible to the west and south of the island, but is easily distinguished from the steam plume by its linear nature and brighter tone.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.