Real-time coverage of volcanoes event — Ambrym Volcano, Vanuatu — Pandita Data.
🌋 OPEN LIVE 3D EARTHQUAKE DASHBOARDAmbrym volcano in Vanuatu's northern archipelago is currently in an active eruptive phase as of 8 January 2026, with ash plumes rising from multiple vents on the island's caldera floor. Located at 16.25°S, 168.12°E in the South Pacific, Ambrym sits within one of the world's most volcanically active regions, where the Australian and Pacific Plates collide at a subduction zone. Current activity poses immediate ash fall risk to nearby islands, respiratory hazards to local communities, and disruption to regional air traffic corridors serving Fiji, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia.
Ambrym is a basaltic shield volcano with one of the world's largest persistent lava lake systems. Its eruptions are driven by decompression melting—as the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Australian Plate, overlying mantle rock ascends, pressure drops, and rock melts. This low-viscosity basaltic magma rises rapidly through crustal fractures, feeding the volcano's characteristic strombolian and Hawaiian-style activity. The 2026 phase involves episodic fountaining and degassing from the Benbow and Marum pit craters, which can eject incandescent fragments 100–300 metres above the vent and generate ash columns reaching 3–8 km altitude.
Ash ejected into the upper troposphere circulates with prevailing trade winds. Fine particles (less than 63 micrometres) remain suspended for weeks, traveling hundreds of kilometres downwind and contaminating drinking water, agricultural land, and causing severe respiratory stress in vulnerable populations. Coarser tephra falls near the volcano, posing roof collapse risk and burying crops.
Pandita Data integrates real-time satellite data from NOAA's GOES-S infrared sensors, NASA's MODIS spectroradiometer, and USGS volcanic gas sensors to visualize Ambrym's activity. Thermal anomalies detected over the caldera confirm active lava lake temperatures (900–1,200°C). Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) measurements track ash plume density and dispersion. Sentinel-5P CO₂ and SO₂ column data quantify volcanic degassing, essential for aviation rerouting and air quality forecasts. Our 3D simulation renders ash trajectory modeling using NOAA HYSPLIT wind-transport algorithms, showing real-time dispersion cones and deposition patterns across the South Pacific.