Pyroclastic flows in Aymer's Ghaut (29 Jan - 1 Feb 2010)

Photo sequence of an ash mushroom cloud rising above a big pyroclastic flow.

Below Pea Ghaut, a river bed now buried by pyroclastic flow deposits.

The ash mushroom freely expands in the calm upper troposphere.

Billowing ash reaching an altitude of about five kilometres.

A hidden pyroclastic flow illuminates the ash erupted from the dome (right).

Huge pyroclastic flow in Aymer's Ghaut: note its incandescent front on the right.

The red front runs towards the sea, while ash rises kilometers high into the sky.

The red front reaches Plymouth, below a moonlit billowing ash column.

View over the dome, with the ash cloud illuminated by a hidden flow at right.

Ash fallout over Plymouth, as seen from the sea West of the island.

Plymouth disappears in the huge ash fallout from a pyroclastic flow.

Another flow runs towards the delta in the sea of Aymer's Ghaut.

This flow has just stopped before reaching Kinsale village...

...and is suddenly followed by another directed towards our boat.

Luckily this one also stops just before reaching the white delta of Aymer's Ghaut.

Nevertheless our pilot is ready to start the engine, just in case...

Zoom on the front of a pyroclastic flow descending in Aymer's Ghaut.

Spectacular billowing ash over Kinsale and Plymouth villages.

Ash fall over Plymouth; the cloud size requires an extreme wide angle lens.

Flows approach Aymer's Ghaut delta every few tens of minutes.

As the flow stops, the hot ash rises violently into the sky...

...to mix with the ash erupted by the dome and to fall over Plymouth.

Plymouth on the northern (left) side of Aymer's Ghaut delta, Kinsale in the south.

Another pyroclastic flow in Aymer's Ghaut; abandoned houses of Plymouth in the foreground.