earthstory: Nishinoshima is still growing In November of 2013, an underwater volcanic eruption gave
earthstory: Nishinoshima is still growing In November of 2013, an underwater volcanic eruption gave birth to a tiny island off the eastern coast of Japan. The island rapidly grew in size and eventually fused with the nearby island of Nishinoshima, just a month after the volcano’s eruption. Today, the island stands at almost 2.5 square kilometers, with volcanic activity showing no signs of slowing down. This false-color image, which was captured by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8, shows plumes of steam and sulfur dioxide wafting from the mouth of the volcano. The white and blue represent the plumes and ocean respectively, while the drops of red on Nishinoshima are hot spots of lava. Besides than the volcano’s mouth, the satellite has only been able to detect hot spots at the southeastern region of the island. Fresh molten rock has been flowing through hollow tubes of solidified lava, which have been keeping the flowing lava hidden until appearing at the island’s edge. Meanwhile, geologists aren’t the only scientists keeping a close eye on Nishinoshima; biologists and ecologists are also excited to observe how life will eventually colonize Nishinoshima. Old Nishinoshima, before it was unwittingly fused to the new island, was home to various bird species before they were driven away by the ongoing eruption. Researchers believe the potential of a new ecosystem lies with local seabirds that could turn Nishinoshima into their nesting ground. In a potentially great illustration of the cycle of life, the birds’ waste products — poop, vomit, and their eventual decomposing corpses — will become fertile soil that will be ideal for vegetation, to be grown from the seeds potentially transported to the island by wind, water, or the droppings of overflying birds. Until the island stops spewing lava, however, geologists and biologists will need to be content making further off-site observations and hypotheses as to what might happen to Nishinoshima in the near future. -DCPhoto credit: http://1.usa.gov/1QWxw7kMore reading: http://bit.ly/1LCm4tZhttp://bit.ly/1CBOgVrhttp://bit.ly/1FHX6Bbhttp://wxch.nl/1GEx6awWhen Nishinoshima turned a year old last November: http://on.fb.me/1Km5Btv -- source link
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