New Pacific island rises after underwater volcanic blast
There’s a new island in the South Pacific. Earlier this month, an underwater volcano near Tonga erupted, spewing lava and spewing steam, and water above the surface. It also formed a new landmass that has rapidly grown from one to over eight acres.
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, on September 10, a volcano on what is known as the Home Reef Seamount began to erupt. Eleven hours later, the unnamed island emerged from the water.
On Saturday, the Tonga Geological Survey estimated the island had expanded to about 8.6 hectares and was about 15 meters above sea level by September 19.
The geological agency said, “volcanic activities” continued at Home Reef but posed only a low risk to the local communities of Vava’u and Ha’apai. This isn’t the first time Home Reef has erupted. The underwater volcano area erupted in 1852, 1857, 1984, and 2006, producing new islands each time.
Islands created by underwater volcanic activity can last for years, although they don’t usually last long, NASA said. But there is hope that the tiny atoll southwest of Tonga’s Late Island will resist. An island created in 1995 by the nearby Late’iki volcano has existed for 25 years.
According to the space agency, Home Reef is part of the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zone, where three tectonic plates collide and create an active area for underwater volcanoes.
Meradalir volcano 🌋 in the moonlight 🌖 on our tour in August
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