September 8, 2020: Underwater Eruption
Image courtesy of NSF and NOAA. Download larger version (jpg, 1.9 MB).
An eruption near the summit of the underwater West Mata volcano, observed during a 2009 expedition to the Pacific’s Northeast Lau Basin, along the Ring of Fire. The blast (top left) was intense, and broken rock can be seen in the plume. Three glowing bands of superheated "pillow" lava (seen below the blast) were observed flowing down the volcano’s slope.
These observations at West Mata were the first-ever observations of active lava flows in the deep ocean, which is significant because the vast majority of the Earth’s crust was formed at submarine volcanoes in the deep sea, and most of the volcanic eruptions on Earth take place under the sea’s surface. Thus, this was the first documentation of one of the most fundamental processes forming the Earth’s surface. The team in 2009 conducted five dives at West Mata and observed active eruption during every dive.
Check out the Vents and Volcanoes Education Theme page to learn more.