New isle formed in Japan due to underwater volcanic eruption
Researchers from the University of Tokyo have reported that an explosive underwater volcano that erupted at the end of October created a new mass of land off the coast of Japan. The new island emerged from the sea off the coast of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean, about 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo.
Photographed on November 1
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force captured images of it rising from the ocean on November 1. The little island, currently part of the Ogasawara Island group, is seen in the photographs to have experienced a minor eruption that sent a heavy cloud of ash above it. The researchers from the University of Tokyo confirmed the eruption took place on October 30.
Island mainly of rock blocks
The scientists observed lava shooting more than 50 meters into the air, along with phreatomagmatic explosions, the scientific term for what happens when powerful magma ejections mix with water. According to the Earthquake Research Institute at the University, the new island was formed just north of the explosion site with the new land measuring 100 meters in diameter and consisting mainly of rock blocks.
No injuries have been reported
Setsuya Nakada, an emeritus professor of volcanology at the University of Tokyo told Japan Times that the area surrounding Iwo Jima has been experiencing underwater magma eruptions, or phreatomagmatic eruptions for a while now. The magma solidifies as rock beneath the surface. Reportedly, since the continuing eruption started, there have been no reports of injuries or damage on Iwo Jima.
The island's role in World War II
The island is located one kilometer from Iwo Jima, the site of some of the most intense Pacific theater engagements of World War II. It was the island in Japan where Japanese and American forces waged a fierce battle. In a war involving US Marines and tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers stationed there, about 7,000 Americans and 22,000 Japanese soldiers were reportedly killed.
Similar eruptions in the past
In geological history, large islands, including those that comprise the Hawaiian archipelago, have been formed by underwater volcanic eruptions. But we don't get to witness them. In 2013, in the same region of Japan, close to the Nishinoshima volcano, another small island emerged similarly. That eruption lasted for a decade. However, according to Nakada, the eruptions near Iwo Jima typically last only a month.
