In contrast to relatively gentle eruption of basaltic submarine volcanoes, island arc volcanoes often erupt lavas with a higher silica content and more dissolved gases. When such lavas erupt at the lowered pressure at the earth’s surface, the effect is similar to opening a warm soda bottle. Consequently, eruptions of these volcanoes tend to have more explosive volcanic activity such as seen in this photograph of a shallow submarine eruption at Kavachi Seamount on May 14, 2000. Little is known about what deeper submarine eruptions of this type would look like. Courtesy of Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Corporation (CSIRO). For more information, visit the Global Volcanism Program. |
