NOAA-Scientists Discover and Image Explosive Deep-Ocean Volcano

Posted by Steven Goodheart on December 19, 2009 · 1 Comment 

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NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Scientists Discover and Image Explosive Deep-Ocean Volcano

“Scientists funded by NOAA and the National Science Foundation recorded the deepest erupting volcano yet discovered, describing high-definition video of the undersea eruption as “spectacular.” Eruption of the West Mata volcano, discovered in May, occurred nearly 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in an area bounded by Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.”

You can download beautiful QuickTime movies here:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/videos/west_mata_eruptionweb.mov

and another beauty here:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/videos/west_mata_eruption_zoomweb.mov

Here are some still images from the site which you can click for larger images:

Hot magma blows up into the water before settling to the seafloor. Foreground: Jason remotely-operated vehicle with sampling hoses. Image is about 6-10 feet across in an eruptive area about 100 yards that runs along the summit. - NOAA

Explosion near summit of West Mata volcano throws ash and rock. Molten lava glows below. Image is about six feet across in an eruptive area about 100 yards that runs along the summit. - NOAA

Jason remotely-operated vehicle samples fluid at an eruptive area near the summit of the West Mata Volcano. The fluid sampling “wand” is about three feet long. - NOAA

Bands of glowing magma, about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, are exposed as a pillow lava tube extrudes down slope. Image is about three feet across in an eruptive area about 100 yards that runs along the summit. - NOAA

West Mata Volcano (white ellipse on bathymetric map) is not the largest volcano in the northeast Lau Basin, but appears to be the most active. Map represents the area visited and mapped on two recent expeditions. Summit of West Mata Volcano is nearly one mile deep, the base is nearly two miles deep. Tonga Trench (north and east of the expedition area) is nearly seven miles deep. - NOAA

Filed under earth-science, geography, geology, nature · Tagged with explosion, Fiji, lava, Pacific-Ocean, Samoa, Tonga, undersea-volcano, video, volcano