Underwater Volcano in the Pacific Spews Smoke, Ash, and Shark Fragments

NASA released images of the Kavachi Volcano near the Solomon Islands in the Pacific, east of New Guinea, an active underwater volcano that has started to erupt. It's not only spewing smoke and ash, though-there could be shark fragments out there as well.

Images show the discolored water around the volcano several times between April and May 2022.

The volcano has long been dubbed as "Sharkcano" that started in 2015 when scientists found two species of sharks, including hammerheads, in the water.

What makes it strange is that it's not just salt water, but it's hot, acidic, and sulfur-laden water.

Scientists also saw bluefin trevally, trevally, snapper, sixgill stingrays, jellyfish, and silky sharks in the extreme environment.

The volcano has been in its eruptive phase since October 2021.

Sharks In an Extreme Environment?

Ever since sharks were found around the volcano, it has raised new questions about the ecology of active submarine volcanoes and the environment in which sharks and other marine animals can exist.

Based on a 2016 article, scientists believe that the sharks must have mutated to survive in that type of environment.

National Geographic's ocean engineer Brennan Phillips said, "These large animals are living in what you have to assume is much hotter and much more acidic water. It makes you question what type of extreme environment these animals are adapted to."

Significant Eruptions Over the Years

First reports of volcanic activity were recorded in 1939, and there have been at least 11 significant eruptions since the late 1970s-two in 1976 and 1991, which were so powerful that they created new islands. However, the islands were not big enough to resist erosion and ultimately, they became submerged.

Sometimes, the frequent, shallow submarine eruptions breach the surface in which jets of steam volcanic rock fragments and incandescent bombs are ejected above the surface.

Kavachi

The Kavachi was formed by plate tectonics. According to Kadie Bennis, a volcano data researcher at the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), "There is a whole bunch of different plates across that world that are moving on the mantle. When you have two plates that are coming together at certain boundaries, and one of them starts to subducts, for example, you could get a volcano popping up on one of those plates. And so, that's what's happening at Kavachi."

The volcano, though may sound very dangerous, hasn't caused hazards to people that are boating in the area because they know how to stay away from the volcano.

There are times when underwater volcanoes can produce pumice rafts that can indicate volcanic activity happening below the sea. This may be dangerous for boats because those rocks may get stuck in the rudder. However, that's only the hazard to worry about at Kavachi.

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Written by April Fowell