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Underwater Volcano Eruption Creates New Island Near Tonga

By Marina Guerges | Updated On January 30, 2017
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Underwater Volcano Eruption Creates New Island Near Tonga

[Video above shows a volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean from 2009 in West Mata Volcano, Lau Basin. This is not footage of the Tonga volcanic eruption.]

A temporary island was formed in the Pacific Ocean from a underwater volcanic eruption in Hunga Tonga — located in the Tonga archipelago, between the small islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai.

The volcano began erupting at the beginning of 2015 and it has continued to do so for about a month. Just about 40 miles northwest of the capital, Nuku’alofa, the eruption caused interruption with international air travel due to the dangerous ash in the air, according to Sci-Tech Today.

The eruption in the region of the Pacific Ocean typically known as the 'Ring of Fire' caused the nearly 1-kilometer wide, fish-shaped island to form. The Jan. 19 Pleiades satellite footage illustrates the birth of the new island that formed from the eruption. The satellite footage also shows the steam, ash and nitrogren and phosphorus that was erupted from the ocean, where the volcano was pushing up rocks and magma.

While the volcano could likely take months to erode the entire island, research showed the ocean around the temporary island to be fairly shallow. Since the surprising island currently doesn’t have a name, any naming rights will likely fall to the king of Tonga.

For More Info Sharing Earth Observation Resources (eoPortal Images)

[Video above shows a volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean from 2009 in West Mata Volcano, Lau Basin. This is not footage of the Tonga volcanic eruption.]

A temporary island was formed in the Pacific Ocean from a underwater volcanic eruption in Hunga Tonga — located in the Tonga archipelago, between the small islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai.

The volcano began erupting at the beginning of 2015 and it has continued to do so for about a month. Just about 40 miles northwest of the capital, Nuku’alofa, the eruption caused interruption with international air travel due to the dangerous ash in the air, according to Sci-Tech Today.

The eruption in the region of the Pacific Ocean typically known as the 'Ring of Fire' caused the nearly 1-kilometer wide, fish-shaped island to form. The Jan. 19 Pleiades satellite footage illustrates the birth of the new island that formed from the eruption. The satellite footage also shows the steam, ash and nitrogren and phosphorus that was erupted from the ocean, where the volcano was pushing up rocks and magma.

While the volcano could likely take months to erode the entire island, research showed the ocean around the temporary island to be fairly shallow. Since the surprising island currently doesn’t have a name, any naming rights will likely fall to the king of Tonga.

For More Info Sharing Earth Observation Resources (eoPortal Images)