Video: Furious Eruption of Deepest Known Undersea Volcano
The West Mata volcano erupted nearly 4,000 feet underwater in the Pacific Ocean This is how island chains are born. Scientists spotted the deepest erupting volcano almost 4,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean's surface, and recorded the underwater fury by using the remotely operated submarine Jason. The West Mata Volcano sits in an ocean area between Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, and spews out boninite lavas that are among the hottest recorded on Earth in modern times. Water from the volcano has proven as acidic as battery acid or human stomach acid, but that has not stopped shrimp from thriving near the volcanic vents. Related ArticlesWill Drilling Into a Volcano Trigger an Eruption That Destroys Naples?Iceland's Geothermal BailoutVolcanoes: The Real Eco-Villains?TagsScience, Jeremy Hsu, acidic water, eruptions, jason, lava, volcanoes, west mata volcano This eruption, first spotted in May, has allowed scientists to see molten lava flow across the seafloor for the first time. Vivid...