What is Kawah Ijen?

Nov. 3, 2023

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, which provides optical images of Earth's surface, recently captured stunning images of Kawah Ijen Crater Lake.

About Kawah Ijen:

  • Kawah Ijen is a volcanic crater lake located in East Java, Indonesia.
  • It is part of the larger Ijen volcano complex, which includes several other craters.
  • The main attraction of Kawah Ijen is its stunning turquoise-colored crater lake.
  • The vibrant colour of the water is due to the high concentration of dissolved sulfuric acid and other minerals.
  • The lake is the largest, highly acidic crater lake in the world.
  • The lake has been included in UNESCO’s World Biosphere Reserves.
  • The Ijen volcano complex is still active, and Kawah Ijen is one of the areas where volcanic activity is observed.
  • The volcano releases sulphur gases, which can be ignited and produce impressive blue flames, especially at night. These flames are often referred to as "blue fire."
  • The area around Kawah Ijen is known for traditional sulphur mining.

Key Facts: Copernicus Sentinel-2 Mission

  • It is a European wide-swath, high-resolution, multi-spectral imaging mission
  • It comprises a constellation of two polar-orbiting satellites placed in the same sun-synchronous orbit, phased at 180° to each other.
  • It aims at monitoring variability in land surface conditions, and its wide swath width (290 km) and high revisit time (10 days at the equator with one satellite and 5 days with 2 satellites under cloud-free conditions, which results in 2-3 days at mid-latitudes) will support monitoring of Earth's surface changes.

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