On September 14, scientists with Tonga Geological Services estimated the area of the island to be 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet/ 1 acre) and the elevation to be 10 meters (33 feet) above sea level. By September 20, the island had actually grown to cover 24,000 square meters (258,000 square feet/ 6 acres). The brand-new island lies southwest of Late Island, northwest of Mounga one, and northeast of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai.
Home Reef sits within the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zone, a location where 3 tectonic plates are colliding at the fastest converging boundary in the world. The Pacific Plate here is sinking underneath 2 other little plates, yielding one of Earths deepest trenches and most active volcanic arcs.
Small islands momentarily formed after both events, and eruptions in 1984 and 2006 produced ephemeral islands with cliffs that were 50 to 70 meters (160 to 230 feet) high. An island developed by a 12-day eruption from neighboring Lateiki Volcano in 2020 washed away after 2 months, while an earlier island developed in 1995 by the very same volcano stayed for 25 years.
” The volcano postures low dangers to the aviation community and the citizens of Vavau and Haapai,” the Tonga Geological Service stated in an upgrade issued on September 20. “All mariners are, however, recommended to cruise beyond 4 kilometers far from Home Reef up until additional notification.” The service kept in mind that the majority of ash ought to fall within a few kilometers of the vent.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
House Reef erupts. September 14, 2022. (Click image for wider view.).
House Reef Erupts in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.
The underwater volcano has actually once again produced a little island.
In the southwest Pacific Ocean, a seafloor ridge with the highest density of undersea volcanoes in the world extends from New Zealand to Tonga. On September 10, 2022, one of these undersea volcanoes awoke. Ever since, the Home Reef seamount in the Central Tonga Islands has repeatedly ejected plumes of steam and ash, oozed lava, and blemished the surrounding water.
Eleven hours after the eruption first started, a brand-new island rose above the water surface. The Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 caught this natural-color view (see image above) of the young island on September 14, 2022, as plumes of stained water circulated close by. Previous research study recommends that these plumes of superheated, acidic seawater include volcanic rock pieces, particulate matter, and sulfur.
The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone is a convergent plate border that stretches from the North Island of New Zealand northward. The trench formed in between the Kermadec-Tonga and Pacific Plates is likewise house to the second inmost trench in the world, at about 10,800 meters (35,400 feet), as well as the longest chain of submerged volcanoes.
The Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 recorded this natural-color view (see image above) of the young island on September 14, 2022, as plumes of stained water circulated nearby. On September 14, researchers with Tonga Geological Services approximated the area of the island to be 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet/ 1 acre) and the elevation to be 10 meters (33 feet) above sea level. The brand-new island is located southwest of Late Island, northwest of Mounga one, and northeast of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai.
Little islands temporarily formed after both events, and eruptions in 1984 and 2006 produced ephemeral islands with cliffs that were 50 to 70 meters (160 to 230 feet) high. An island developed by a 12-day eruption from neighboring Lateiki Volcano in 2020 cleaned away after 2 months, while an earlier island developed in 1995 by the same volcano stayed for 25 years.