All articles tagged with #underwater eruption
NASA satellites captured a fleeting 'ghost island' in the Caspian Sea formed by an underwater mud volcano eruption near Azerbaijan in early 2023, which quickly eroded by late 2024, highlighting the dynamic and ephemeral nature of mud volcanoes and underwater volcanic activity.
A temporary island appeared above an underwater mud volcano off Azerbaijan's coast in January 2023, formed by an eruption at Kumani Bank, but it nearly vanished by December 2024, illustrating the fleeting nature of such volcanic landforms. The region is known for its numerous mud volcanoes caused by tectonic activity, with similar ephemeral islands forming elsewhere due to volcanic eruptions.
The 2022 eruption of the Hunga volcano caused significant ash deposition on the seafloor, damaging deep-sea ecosystems and affecting Tonga's coral reefs and local livelihoods. The study highlights the environmental impact of underwater volcanic activity and raises concerns about future deep-sea mining, which could cause similar or greater ecological harm.
Scientists have discovered evidence of a massive underwater volcanic eruption near the Greek island of Santorini 520,000 years ago, which was 15 times larger than the recent Tonga eruption. The eruption ejected at least 21.6 cubic miles of volcanic rock and ash, revealing the potential for tremendous underwater eruptions in the Hellenic volcanic arc. While the volcano is not expected to see an eruption of this scale for several hundred thousand years, the magma chamber will continue to feed smaller eruptions for decades or even centuries.
A multinational team of scientists has discovered evidence of a previously unknown underwater eruption near the island of Santorini, which occurred around 520,000 years ago and is rewriting the area's geological history. The eruption, named "Archaeos Tuff," deposited a giant pumice layer six times larger than the one that contributed to the decline of the Minoan civilization. This discovery highlights the importance of deep subsea drilling to reveal the secrets of volcanic arcs in densely populated areas like the Mediterranean. Despite the violent early history, it is unlikely that the Santorini volcanic complex will have another eruption of this magnitude in the near future.