Three weeks ago, an undersea volcano began to erupt off the coast of Japan. These eruptions have produced enough volcanic rocks to form a small, probably temporary, island. However, this volcanic activity also provides scientists with a rare view of the birth of a new island.
This unnamed undersea volcano is located about half a mile off the southern coast of Iwo Jima (Ioto). It began this series of eruptions on October 21st. Within 10 days the volcanic ash and rocks piled up so high its tip was rising above the sea’s surface. Earlier this month, these materials had come together to form a brand-new island. According to Yuji Usui, an analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency’s volcanic division, the island is about 328 feet in diameter and as high as 66 feet above the sea.
Of the roughly 1,500 active volcanoes in the world, 111 are in Japan, putting it in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. While the area near Iwo Jima is known for its volcanic activity, the formation of an island is a significant development, Usui said.
The volcano‘s eruptions have stopped, and the island has already begun to sink into the sea. At the same time, experts are still analyzing its development, and details of the deposits. The island could survive longer if made of lava or something more durable than volcanic rocks like pumice.
According to Usui, its “crumbly” formation makes it susceptible to being easily washed away by the waves. “We just have to see the development,” he said. “But the island may not last very long.”
In 2013, a new island formed at Nishinoshima in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo, and kept growing during a decade-long volcanic eruption. That same year, a huge 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan caused a small island to surface from the seabed. And in 2015, a month-long eruption of a submarine volcano off the coast of Tonga formed another island.
While volcanos forming islands isn’t unheard of, it’s still a pretty rare phenomenon that warrants as much investigation as possible.
