What is an underwater volcano? Eruption in Southwest Pacific Ocean leads to island formation

An undersea volcano erupted in the Central Islands of Tonga, and as a result, a new baby island appeared, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. NASA stated that the island has emerged in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

A minimum of 1.8 miles of molten lava, steam, and ash are being released into the air as the island continues to expand.

NASA Earth Observatory said:

“In the southwest Pacific, a seafloor ridge that stretches from New Zealand to Tonga has the highest density of underwater volcanoes in the world. On September 10, one of them—the Home Reef seamount—awoke, giving rise to a new island."

Images acquired on September 14 by the Landsat 9 satellite showed how the island formed. The pictures show a sizable cloud of steam and ash rising from the volcano. Previous research indicates that sulfur, volcanic rock pieces, and particle debris are present in these superheated, acidic seawater plumes.

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What is an underwater volcano?

Along the tectonic plate margins of the Earth, volcanoes frequently occur. These boundaries cause gasses, ash, and superheated molten rock, known as magma, to ascend through the crust of the Earth and erupt on the surface.

Around three-quarters of all volcanic activity on Earth essentially takes place underwater since many plate boundaries are undersea.

Even though a majority of underwater volcanoes do not experience the dramatic eruptions that some of their terrestrial counterparts do, undersea volcanic activity is a continuous process that molds the ocean's characteristics.

While all seafloor spreading centers have submarine eruptions, these centers experience them more frequently because the plates spread quite quickly.

In regions where crustal plates meet, one plate gradually sinks beneath the other until it is remelted, and submarine eruptions can also take place. These locations, called subduction zones, experience eruptions very differently as compared to spreading centers.

Andesite, a byproduct of the melting of the subducting plate, is a form of rock typical of subduction zone volcanism. Due to their high viscosity and high gas concentration, andesitic lavas frequently create explosive eruptions. Deep andesitic eruptions that are now active have only recently been found.

As a result of a magma stream rising through the Earth's crust overlaying a region of melting in the Earth's mantle, a third type of underwater eruption takes place. Hotspot volcanoes are what cause these eruptions, and they frequently produce chains of volcanic islands and seamounts.

Because of the unique environment that they produce, underwater volcanoes are also fascinating. As a result of the way that seamounts are shaped, food-carrying currents are diverted upward, attracting a range of symbiotic organisms as well as the crustaceans and fish that feed on them. Seamounts are frequently places with significant biological diversity.

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New island grows at rapid pace

According to NASA, the new island appeared above the water's surface eleven hours after the eruption started. Southwest of the archipelago's Late Island, on the Home Reef seamount, is where the new island is located.

Earth's newest island located in the Pacific Ocean (via metro, futurism)

NASA noted that the new island has expanded significantly. On September 14, Tonga Geological Services experts determined that the island's area was 4,000 square meters with an altitude of 10 meters. However, on September 20, the island expanded to a size of 24,000 square meters.

The Tonga Geological Service issued an update on September 20. It said that the volcano doesn't pose too much of a risk to the avaition community and residents of Vava’u and Ha’apai.

All mariners were advised to sail beyond 4 kilometers away from Home Reef until further notice.