NISAR satellite tracks Krasheninnikov eruption in Kamchatka
NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation released synthetic aperture radar observations and a time-lapse sequence from the NISAR satellite tracking Mount Krasheninnikov in Russia. The volcano, located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, returned to life after approximately 500 years of dormancy following a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast.
Published on Thursday, September 24, 2026, by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the dataset combines 17 radar passes recorded between December 25, 2025, and August 17, 2026. The imagery tracks molten rock filling the internal crater area before spilling across the eastern flank in a wide, fan-shaped formation.
Krasheninnikov eruption history and the July 2025 earthquake
The volcano had not recorded an eruption since approximately 1550, leaving it without dense ground-based monitoring networks despite Kamchatka hosting dozens of active peaks along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Activity resumed shortly after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka coast on July 30, 2025. By the morning of August 3, 2025, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team confirmed the first visual signs of ash plumes and lava emergence.
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NISAR orbital tracking and radar imaging at 747 kilometers
Operating at an altitude of 747 kilometers (464 miles), the NISAR spacecraft orbits Earth as a joint Earth-observing mission developed by NASA and ISRO. The satellite carries dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar operating in L-band and S-band frequencies, enabling high-resolution imaging through dense clouds, volcanic plumes, and darkness. Thousands of microwave pulses sent per second bounce off the terrain to measure surface changes across the volcanic structure.
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“The consistency is crucial. Twice every 12 days, acquiring in this high-resolution mode and in two observation directions, this shows the promise of NISAR to closely monitor natural hazards,” said Matthew Pritchard, a geophysicist at Cornell University and member of the NISAR science team. The satellite observes the volcano twice every 12 days, gathering data along both south-to-north and north-to-south orbital paths.
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Key milestones of the Krasheninnikov satellite monitoring
- July 30, 2025: Magnitude 8.8 earthquake strikes off Kamchatka, coinciding with the launch of the NISAR satellite from India
- August 3, 2025: Volcanologists detect the initial ash plume and lava output at Mount Krasheninnikov
- December 25, 2025: NISAR acquires its first radar image of the volcano during orbital testing
- August 17, 2026: Mission teams record the seventeenth and final radar pass of the published time-lapse sequence
- September 24, 2026: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory releases the processed radar images and time-lapse video
Lava flow geometry and unresolved seismic triggers
Nos registros de radar, o material fundido aparece mais brilhante do que a neve e o terreno circundantes, porque as superfícies ásperas e solidificadas da lava refletem os sinais de micro-ondas de volta para o sensor com maior intensidade. As imagens identificaram um fluxo principal descendo em direção ao leste e um ramo secundário anterior estendendo-se para noroeste, que se formou antes de o NISAR capturar sua imagem de teste inicial.
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Os geólogos ainda não determinaram se o terremoto de magnitude 8,8 foi o único fator desencadeante da erupção ou se acelerou o movimento magmático que já estava em curso sob o Monte Krasheninnikov. As equipes de pesquisa continuam analisando dados de radar orbital e registros sísmicos terrestres para monitorar a estabilidade do sistema vulcânico.
