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[NASA] Réunion Island Lava Reaches the Sea

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Earth Observatory
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  3. Réunion Island Lava Reaches…
 
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Lava flows east in this thermal image captured by the
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(TIRS) on
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on March 28, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Located 700 kilometers (440 miles) east of Madagascar, Réunion Island is the product of a long-lived mantle

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on the floor of the Indian Ocean. The island first emerged above the ocean’s surface about 2 million years ago. It remains active today, with frequent eruptions from
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, a shield volcano on the island’s eastern side.

Since the 17th century, the volcano has had more than 150 documented eruptions. The most recent began within the

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caldera on February 13, 2026, with the opening of four fissures that fueled sustained
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reaching 10 to 50 meters (30 to 160 feet). Throughout February and March, basaltic lava spilled down the volcano, advancing through forested and grassy areas toward its eastern side.

This

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shows lava flowing east toward the ocean on March 28, 2026. The signal reveals the amount of heat emanating from surfaces on Earth based on detections of thermal radiation in two wavelengths. Warmer areas are mapped in yellow and cooler surfaces in blue. The thermal data were overlaid on a
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of the island.

The current activity likely marks the onset of a new cycle of frequent eruptive activity at Piton de la Fournaise

Diego Coppola

University of Turin

“The hottest areas, shown as the brightest tones, correspond to the eruptive vent, the active lava channel, and the flow front,” said Adele Campus, a University of Turin volcanologist. From the vent, lava flows downslope for several kilometers, often through

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. “The places where lava re-emerges at the surface through
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appear as localized hotspots,” she added. Campus and colleagues analyzed more than two decades of NASA and NOAA satellite observations
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identifying key trends and patterns in the volcano’s thermal activity and rate of lava effusion.

On March 13, lava

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the island’s Route Nationale 2 (RN2). By March 16, it had
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into the Indian Ocean, producing acidic plumes of steam and volcanic gases, known as
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, according to the
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. Scientists on the ground measured lava temperatures of 1,100 to 1,130 degrees Celsius (2,010 to 2,070 degrees Fahrenheit) as lava neared the ocean. Thermal surveys also showed that water temperatures exceeded 36°C (97°F) up to 600 meters from the entry point, according to OVPF. As of March 24, materials entering the ocean had created a new
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that extended the coastline by 190 meters.

“This eruption appears to be longer and to have produced a larger volume of lava than usual,” said Diego Coppola, a professor of volcanology at the University of Turin who coauthored the analysis with Campus. Such characteristics are often associated with the onset or end of an eruptive cycle. The most recent cycle began in 2014, culminated in 2015, and ended in July 2023. “The current activity,” he said, “likely marks the onset of a new cycle of frequent eruptive activity at Piton de la Fournaise.”

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the 

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and elevation data from the
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(SRTM). Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

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March 28, 2026

JPEG (960.84 KB)

References & Resources

  • Airbus Space, via X (2026, March 25)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • BBC (2026, March 16)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • Global Volcanism Program (2026)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • Imaz Press (2026, March 13)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • MSN (2026, March 25)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • NASA Earth Observatory (2023, December 30)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • Observatoire volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise, via Bluesky (2026)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.
  • Observatoire volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (2026)
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    . Accessed April 1, 2026.

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