Sakurajima, Japan

Ash flow eruption due to collapse of the eruption column in heavy typhoon winds.
Photo courtesy of and copyrighted by Mike Lyvers.

Ash falling out at sea. Photo courtesy of and copyrighted by Mike Lyvers.

A seaside hot spring at the foot of the volcano. Photo courtesy of and copyrighted by Mike Lyvers.

A new way to study volcanoes is to use radar - which transmits waves of energy to the target and then measures how much of the energy is refelcted back. This radar image of was taken from the Space Shuttle in 1994. It shows the stratovolcano Sakura-jima almost filling Kagoshima Bay. The orange colors on Sakura-jima are lava flows; the 1914 lava is visible on the bottom-left side of the volcano. If many more lava flows in the future erupt in that area a land bridge may be created to the mainland.

More views and eruptions of Sakurajima. Photographs courtesy of and copyrighted by Mike Lyvers.

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