"Volcanic Ash of Nishinoshima Island Eruption Carried by Wind and Currents Triggered Phytoplankton Bloom around Mukojima Island: Discovery by Student Team from "The Advanced Satellite Training Course"

2025-10-01

A student team comprising members from multiple universities, who participated in the “The Advanced Satellite Training Course” revealed that volcanic ash from the Nishinoshima eruption in the Ogasawara Islands was transported by wind and ocean current triggering a phytoplankton bloom around Mukojima Island, located 130 km away. This research originated from the Remote Sensing Data Analysis Exercise of the Advanced Satellited Training Course, organized by the Space Development and Utilization Promotion Office at the Center for Orbital and Suborbital Observations. In the exercise, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as working professionals, form groups of five to six members and, over a short two-week period, use publicly available satellite data to develop and discuss scientific or business themes of their own choosing in an online setting, and compile their findings. This team continued their activities after the exercise ended and, under the guidance of Professor Joji Ishizaka of the Center for International Collaborative Research / Research Division of Land-Ocean Ecosystem Research (currently Specially Appointed Professor at the Center for Orbital and Suborbital Observations), engaged in discussions, detailed data analysis, and simulations for more than two years, ultimately achieving scientific publication

Katada, R., Ariyoshi, S., Ayuzawa, H., Saito, K., Ishizaka, J., Iwabuchi, H. (2025) Relation between Eruption at Nishinoshima and Chlorophyll-a Concentration at Ogasawara Islands in 2020. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, 12, 85. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-025-00761-z

(English Press Release)
https://www.nagoya-u.ac.jp/researchinfo/result-en/2025/10/20251007ni-01.html