New island appears off Japan after volcanic eruption

A new island that emerged from the Pacific Ocean after an underwater volcanic eruption is now visible from space in images from the European Space Agency (ESA). Satellite images show the new landmass is located about 1 kilometer off the coast of Japan's Iwo Jima island.

The underwater volcano began erupting on October 21 and its activity increased over the next 10 days. By October 30, eruptions were occurring every few minutes. The eruptions threw large rocks into the air and shot a plume of gas and ash more than 50 meters high, almost vertically above the water.

The newly emerged volcanic island in the ocean off Japan's Iwo Jima island can be seen in satellite imagery. (Photo: ESA/USGS)

Since the volcano began erupting, ash and volcanic rocks have piled up to form the new island, which is now visible from space, a statement from the ESA said.

The latest image, taken by the Landsat 9 satellite on November 3, shows Iwo Jima island – located about 1,200 km south of Tokyo – before and after the latest eruption.

Along with the creation of a new island, the eruption also created a floating sea of ​​pumice—an extremely porous rock formed during explosive eruptions. According to another translation, new analysis of this pumice shows that its chemical composition is different from that of volcanic eruptions from other volcanoes in the chain.

The statement noted that the pumice may have come from an eruption along the back-arc rift zone – the area behind the volcanic arc.

The latest eruption was in roughly the same location as the one that occurred in July 2022, suggesting that magmatic activity is resuming at Iwo Jima.

Yuji Usui, an analyst at the Japan Meteorological Agency, said the eruption had now subsided. The new island was about 100 metres wide and 20 metres high, but it appeared to be shrinking as waves eroded the “crumbling” rock.

Whether the new island will survive is unclear and depends on its composition. “If it is lava, it could last longer ,” Usui told the AP.

(Source: Tien Phong/Live Science)

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