New islands appear in Japan.

A volcanic eruption has formed a new island in the waters off Iwo Jima, Japan, about 1,200 km south of Tokyo.

The volcanic eruption site is located in the Ogasawara Islands, off the coast of Iwo Jima. Lava erupting from the volcano's crater on October 21st solidified into ice upon contact with seawater beneath the surface.

Following the eruption on October 30th, accumulated lava began to rise above the water's surface, forming a new island. From November 3rd, the crater from this new island began to intensely disperse ash into the air.

Setsuya Nakada, a volcanologist at the University of Tokyo, said the newly formed island is made of pumice and is susceptible to erosion by seawater. However, because the volcano is still active, the island has a high chance of survival, as it is continuously replenished by lava flows.

A new island formed in Japan on November 3. Photo: Japan Times

Mr. Nakada added that the way this island came into existence is similar to an island that formed south of Japan in 2013, which eventually merged with Nishino Island.

Nishino Island was also formed from an underwater eruption, eventually reaching a diameter of about 2 km. Professor Nakada said that Japan's new island could potentially merge with Iwo Jima if the volcano continues to erupt.

Japan has 14,125 islands with a circumference exceeding 100 meters, according to June data from the Japan Geospatial Information Agency (GSI).

Location of Iwo Jima Island, off the coast of Japan. Graphic: Mainichi

Duc Trung (According to Japan Times )

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/nhat-xuat-hien-dao-moi-4674583.html