Tokyo: A new island off the coast of Japan has been created by underwater volcanic eruptions, and which situated 1,200km (745 miles) south of Tokyo.
According to experts, the tiny island appeared following a sequence of eruptions that started in October close to Iwoto island, which is a part of the Ogasawara Island chain in the western Pacific.
The new island is not the first one to be created by volcanic activity in the area. The Ogasawara Island series, commonly known as the Bonin Islands, is actually a volcanic arc made up of over thirty islands and islets, some of which are still active. The area’s most recent island formation took place in 2013, when another undersea volcano erupted and created a new island that later merged with an existing one called Nishinoshima.
Mr. Fukashi Maeno, an Associate Professor at Tokyo University’s earthquake research institute, stated that he had confirmed that phreatomagmatic eruptions, a kind of explosive eruption caused by magma interacting with water, had occurred about a kilometre off Iwoto, forming a landmass of about 100 metres in diameter.
According to Mr. Maeno, this recent island formation is proof of renewed magmatic activity in the area. If the eruptions continue, the island’s size and shape could vary much more, but it also has the chance of sinking beneath the waves. Similar islands formed in 1904, 1914, and 1986 all disappeared due to erosion.
The new island that formed in 2023 would not live very long, as it is made of fragile volcanic rocks that are easily eroded by waves and currents. Experts say that the island could survive longer if it is covered in lava or some more resilient material, but that depends on whether the volcanic activity resumes or not.
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