A crack team of "rapid response" volcano experts scrambled to the South Pacific Ocean last month to find something rarely seen by human eyes: an underwater eruption exploding into the inky, cold depths and spewing lava onto the ocean floor.
The realm of underwater volcanic eruptions is a strange, uncharted one. As much as 80 percent of the planet's volcanic activity is thought to occur on the sea floor, but scientists are rarely able to witness the events. One of the few other undersea volcanoes recorded by researchers was when an eruption near the island of Guam in 2004 vented droplets of liquid carbon dioxide that formed pools of liquid sulfur.
The realm of underwater volcanic eruptions is a strange, uncharted one. As much as 80 percent of the planet's volcanic activity is thought to occur on the sea floor, but scientists are rarely able to witness the events. One of the few other undersea volcanoes recorded by researchers was when an eruption near the island of Guam in 2004 vented droplets of liquid carbon dioxide that formed pools of liquid sulfur.
Full article by Michael Reilly on Discovery News
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