NASA images show the birth of a new island in the Pacific Ocean

Published on 09/22/2022 15:05

The emergence of the new island began after the eruption of an underwater volcano located in the Central Tonga Islands – (Credit: Landsat 9/NASA)

According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, new island baby It appeared in an area full of submerged volcanoes located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The formation of the island was captured by images recorded using the Landsat 9 satellite.

Appearance of new island It began after the eruption of an undersea volcano located in the Central Tonga Islands. Eleven hours after the event, a land mass of water appeared, which was formed by lava and its oceanic cold.

The lava continued to flow over the next few days, until the newly formed island grew. Initially, the diameter of the island was 170 meters, and in the next two days it grew to 182 meters.

Satellite images showed a cloud of steam and ash moving away from the volcano, as well as a distorted cloud that arose around the land. Despite the good news, the small island may cease to exist due to the deterioration of volcanic rocks caused by wave erosion.

However, some newly discovered islands have managed to survive. To the surprise of scientists, despite its small size, the latter island has already fostered a thriving ecosystem, with vegetation and the presence of some animals.