The Kingdom of Tonga's 171 islands captured
on a satellite low-earth-orbit image... uh make that 172.
Posted on 11/09/2006 11:14:24 AM PST by Ben Mugged
A new volcanic island has risen from the South Pacific near Tonga, according to reports from two vessels that passed the area.
The crew of the Maiken, a yacht that left the northern Tongan islands group of Vava'u in August, reported on their Web log on August 12 that they saw streaks of light, porous pumice stone floating in the water -- then "sailed into a vast, many-miles-wide belt of densely packed pumice."
They posted photos of huge "pumice rafts" that they encountered after passing Tonga's Late island while sailing toward Fiji.
"We were so fascinated and busy taking pictures that we plowed a couple of hundred meters into this surreal floating stone field before we realized that we had to turn back," wrote a crewman identified only as Haken.
The next day they spotted an active volcanic island, Haken wrote.
He said they could see the volcanic island clearly. "One mile in diameter and with four peaks and a central crater smoking with steam and once in a while an outburst high in the sky with lava and ashes. I think we're the first ones out here," he reported.
There was no official confirmation of a new island, either from Tonga's Ministry of Lands or the Tonga Defense Service.
Separately, fishing boat captain Siaosi Fenukitau reported seeing the volcanic island, the Matangitonga news Web site reported.
Richard Wunderman, editor of the Washington-based Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, said "a large pumice raft presumably from Tonga has been sweeping across Fiji, and we are trying to learn about its origins."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
"Is this where that Lost plane crashed?"
No, it's where KONG lives.
They found Gilligan's Island!!!
The probably found King Kong there and aren't telling us.
seize it!
"They found Gilligan's Island!!!"
Watch the beach for Tom Hanks making love to a soccer ball.
Yeah, I got a notice on this a couple days ago from the Smithsonian Volcano listserv...
Dear fellow Earth scientists,
A few weeks ago we learned of extensive pumice rafts seen in the Tonga-Fiji
region, which editors at the Smithsonian's Bulletin of the Global Volcanism
Network tentatively thought had come from the Tongan submarine volcano Metis
Shoal. This morning's news from the Tongan newspaper Matangi (Tonga online)
had quotes from a fisherman who had been near the scene and had noted the
emergence of a new island in vicinity of HOME REEF.
Home Reef is the next known active volcano south of Metis Shoal. We
have not yet received photos of the new island but it is apparently large. See
known Holocene volcanoes arranged geographically (S to N) at
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=0403 . The eruptions
themselves would have been considerably earlier than the rafts, perhaps mid- or
early August.
As discussed on our website, Home Reef constructed an island in 1984
that had an estimated size of 500 x 1500 m and a height of 30-50 m. Large
amounts of floating pumice were later encountered by passing ships.
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0403-
08=&VErupt=Y&VSources=Y&VRep=Y&VWeekly=N&volpage=photos&photo=016028
FURTHER RESEARCH. We have yet to see photos of the new island and the exact
coordinates are also lacking. We hope to persuade colleagues in the aviation
and remote-sensing fields to look for aerial and satellite views of the Home
Reef region (18.992°S, 174.775°W; 18°59'30"S, 174°46'30"W) around the inferred
time of eruption. We just found mariner's blogs that indicates strong
eruptions were seen on 12 August, and the new island emerged from the sea by 13
August 2006.
Here are few more key questions that quickly come to mind:
How extensive were the rafts? At maximum how much surface area did they
cover? We might then estimate a volume for the floating pumice. What volume
of material piled up near the vent to form the island? What was the chemistry
of the material erupted? How much material now litters the sea floor and is it
fundamentally analogous to broad tephra deposits from larger eruptions (eg. for
the Caribbean, the Los Chocoyos ash described by Drexler et al., 1980, Quat.
Res., 13, 327-345).
Better knowing the location and timing of the eruption, can we find one or more
geophysical or satellite signals that may signify these eruptions?
What atmospheric impact, if any, did the eruption have?
What will be the fate and impact of the rafts? Previous rafts from this region
have made it at least as far as Australia.
We will have an initial report in the upcoming Bulletin. If you learn
something about this event, please contact us.
Thank you,
Rick Wunderman and Ed Venzke
wunderma@si.edu; gvn@si.edu
Editors,
Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History
10th & Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20560-0119
Web: www.volcano.si.edu
Phone (202) 633 1800, 633-1827
Nope. Thousands of miles away.
I found pictures at www.matangitonga.to I don't know how to post them.
One good volcano sends more gook into the air than all of man's automobiles in all of history.
LOL, "Welcome to Mean West Texas"!
i call dibs
Go Go, Godzilla.
Who says they aren't making more land...
Is that a tiny RE/MAX sign I see there?
Split it widja?
Thanks for the link!
Couple of good pics and a bit of story.
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