Satellite image captures heat from Mount Michael’s persistent lava lake

A clear satellite image has revealed continuing volcanic activity at Mount Michael, a remote 843-metre stratovolcano on Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands.

Captured by NASA and the US Geological Survey’s Landsat 8 satellite on 24 August 2026, the image uses an infrared overlay to show heat associated with a persistent lava lake in the volcano’s summit crater.

NASA said a plume above the peak and darkened snow on the mountain’s northern slopes also suggested activity was continuing when the image was taken. The observations do not establish a major eruption or show that activity had increased materially.

Researchers have identified Mount Michael’s persistent lava lake through analysis of thermal satellite observations collected over about 30 years. The remote volcano is monitored using Landsat, Sentinel, ASTER, MODIS and VIIRS instruments.

Data from the MIROVA volcanic hot spot detection system indicate that low-intensity activity has continued for several years. NASA’s Aura satellite has also recorded commonly observed emissions of sulfur dioxide and other gases.

A later false-colour image from NASA’s Aqua satellite likely showed a volcanic track caused by sulfur dioxide degassing. The clear view of Mount Michael was brief, with more active atmospheric conditions returning when Landsat 9 passed over the island one week later.