Kawachi Volcano, an active submarine volcano in the Solomon Islands, has long been home to sharks. Although their once-peaceful playground in the southwest Pacific Ocean has recently become a little less calm.
In recent months, NASA satellite images have revealed plumes of discolored water over the ocean Volcano – Clear signs of volcanic activity, pointing to multiple eruptions. The images were taken by the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) aboard the Landsat-9 satellite. Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program,
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland shared the news over the weekend Tweet Which read, “You’ve heard of Sharknado, now get ready for SharkCanoe.”
The tweet also mentioned that Kawachi is “one of the most active submarine volcanoes in the Pacific.”
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Researchers observed a change in the color of the water over the volcano in April and May, and the volcanism likely began early last October, according to a statement released by NASA’s Earth Observatory, Prior to this, its most recent major eruptions were in 2014 and 2007. (Records show that the first recorded eruption of Kawachi was in 1939, with subsequent eruptions forming short-lived islands.)
East Research The study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that the volcano’s warm, acidic water plumes typically contain particulate matter, volcanic rock fragments, and sulfur, the latter of which “attracts microbial communities.” Which is sulfurDuring a 2015 research expedition to Kawachi, scientists were surprised to learn that the crater of the volcano is also home to two types of sharks—the hammerhead and silky shark—despite a local turbulent history.
“Title” in a 2016 article in the journal OceanographySharkCanoe ExplorationThe presence of sharks in the crater “raises new questions about the ecology of active submarine volcanoes and the extreme environments of large marine animals,” the researchers wrote.
The summit of Kawachi is about 65 feet (20 m) below sea level, with its base extending to a depth of 0.75 miles (1.2 kilometers) at sea level. The volcano lies about 15 miles (24 km) south of Wanagunu Island, one of more than 900 islands that were formed in a tectonically active zone and make up the Solomon Islands archipelago. Residents of neighboring islands have reported that they regularly see steam and ash on the surface of the water, confirming that so-called sharkcanoes are seeping under the surface.
Originally published on Live Science.
