File:Eruption of White Island, New Zealand (MODIS 2016-09-15).jpg

English: An eruption of White Island Volcano sent ash streaming into the atmosphere and over the Bay of Plenty in mid-September 2016.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on September 13 as it passed over the volcano. In this image, sediment colors the water off of the northeastern tip of New Zealand’s North Island. White Island sits to the northwest, surrounded by the blue waters of the Bay of Plenty. The light gray ash stream rises from the volcano and blows east then curves north-eastward.

White Island, also called Whakaari, is a roughly circular, rugged island measuring about 1.2 mi (2 km) in diameter and rises about 1,053 feet above sea level. The small island is only the tip of a massive submarine stratovolcano, whose main vent remains below sea level, but is shielded from the ocean by high crater walls. According to a New Zealand travel site, the Maori name for the island is “Te Puia o Whakaari”, which means “the dramatic volcano” – a fitting name for an island that “breathes… roars … hisses from steaming vents”, and occasionally spews ash and lava.

On September 13, a very minor eruption was reported from White Island’s volcano, with weak ash emission rising from the lava dome in the central crater. According to Volcano Discovery’s website, the activity produced a whitish-gray plume of fine ash that rose a few hundred meters and was blown by strong winds to the east where it formed a narrow plume several tens of kilometers long.