Japan Gets Additional Island After Volcanic Eruption [VIDEO]
Another new island has grown out of the volcanic ash of the Ring of Fire. This time off the coast of Japan's Ogasawara Islands, a remote archipelago also known as the Bonin Islands. The new landmass in the Pacific Ocean is the youngest of all its neighbours and was born as a result of an ongoing underwater volcanic eruption that began on 21 October. It is only 100 metres wide, but it is a sign that volcanic activity is resuming, The Japan Times reports.
Volcanologist Setsuya Nakada of the University of Tokyo said that the underwater volcanic eruption that formed the island began as a "vertical jet" of solidified magma that flew high above the waves.
After that, the eruption was maintained by relatively continuous outbursts.
As all of this erupted material fell back into the ocean as lava mixed with a low-density porous material called pumice, the mound of rock built up until it was high enough to look out from the depths like a periscope.
On November 3, the underwater volcano changed speed and spewed mostly ash, says Nakada, who flew over the site that day.
The young landmass is located in sight of Iwo Jima, an island about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) south of Tokyo that now has no permanent inhabitants. The island was once the site of a famous battle between American and Japanese forces during World War II.
Its new neighbour lies just over a kilometre offshore, and while the fresh pumice does not rise far above the water line, as of Friday it stretched to about two kilometres in diameter.
While the new landmass may grow slightly in the coming days, any pumice that is not cemented by the lava flows will be eroded away, casting doubt on how much of the island may remain over time.
Scientists estimate that there are more than a million underwater volcanoes in the world, but many of them are likely extinct.
As previously reported by The Gaze, volcanic activity has been going on in Iceland since Saturday, threatening to destroy the entire city. Therefore, the authorities have started building protective walls amid the volcanic threat to the city of Grindavik, and the population has been evacuated.