The Birth of an Island: Breaking News from Milliyet
A Volcanic Explosion Creates New Island Off Coast of Japan
A volcanic explosion in the Pacific Ocean, 1,126 km south of Tokyo, has resulted in the creation of a new island with a diameter of 100 meters. The explosion sent magma, rock, and ash 50 meters high into the air off the coast of Iwo Jima. Experts have stated that the island is likely to become permanent and could even merge with Iwo Jima if the eruption continues.
Iwo Jima, already part of the 10 km wide caldera in the Pacific Ocean, was formed when the volcano’s summit collapsed on itself. Although the new island appears small, it is part of an underwater volcano with a base diameter of 40 km and a height of 2 km. Professor Setsuya Nakada of the Tokyo University Earthquake Research Institute has stated that the parts of the island currently covered with lava could remain “forever.”
Japan is a country of islands in the Pacific Ocean, known to consist of 4 main islands and 6 thousand small islands. However, geographers this year suggested that the Japanese archipelago consists of twice as many islands after identifying a total of 14 thousand 125 islands using digital mapping technology. While Japan gains new islands, it sometimes loses them; for example, in 2018, the island of Esanbe Hanakita Kojima slipped beneath the waves.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared in Iceland following a series of strong earthquakes indicating an increased likelihood of volcanic eruptions in the region. Authorities started evacuation procedures in Grindavik, a city with a population of 4 thousand people, close to the Fagradalsfjall volcano. More than 20,000 tremors have been recorded in southwestern Iceland since late October.
