Volcanoes frequently form on the ocean floor through submarine eruptions
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Reference encyclopedias and peer-reviewed studies establish that submarine volcanoes are common features of the ocean floor and frequently experience volcanic eruptions.
<h4>Background</h4>In 2018, the island of Mayotte located in the western Indian ocean, has experienced a seismo-volcanic crisis linked to the birth of an impressive intraplate submarine volcano at the east of the island. This volcano, named Fani Maoré, which has not yet been the subject of microbiological studies, triggered the largest submarine eruptive event ever recorded. Close to the volcano's summit is a singular meter-size structure containing abundant native sulfur mineralizations. While a wide variety of ecosystems, with more or less well documented microbial communities, are found in active volcanoes on the ocean floor, knowledge on microbial communities hosted in habitats such as sulfur-rich intraplate volcanoes, that are not located on hotspots, remains limited. Genome-resolved metagenomics, culture-based functional approaches, geochemical and mineralogical analyses were combined to characterize the geological and physico-chemical constraints of the environment surrounding the yellow deposit part of this hotspot volcano and the composition and functions of its microbial community.<h4>Results</h4>Geological and geochemical analyses indicated that this volcanic habitat had high concentrations in various sulfur species, including native sulfur, hydrogen sulfide and sulfate. Twenty-three Metagenome Assembled Genomes (MAGs) belonging to 8 different bacterial phyla, mainly Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota and Campylobacterota, were reconstructed from the sulfur-rich deposit and analyzed. The vast majority of MAGs encoded genes for complete sulfur cycling metabolic pathways, in particular sulfur oxidation. Estimation of the cultivable microbial fraction revealed a diversity of microorganisms, with high growth rates for sulfur reduction, sulfate reduction with dihydrogen, and sulfur oxidation. Sulfur compound (S<sup>0</sup>, SO<sub>3</sub><sup>2-</sup> and S<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub><sup>2-</sup>) disproportionation was also observed in cultures. The versatile genus Sulfurimonas was prevalent in culture at 6 and 20 °C, in the presence of different sulfur redox couples.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Microbial communities, including taxa commonly found in ridge hydrothermal systems, were composed of autotrophic, heterotrophic or mixotrophic taxa using a large range of electron donors and acceptors to fuel their catabolism, particularly sulfur compounds in all common oxidation states. They had the genetic potential and physiological capacity to carry out all the metabolic reactions of the microbial sulfur cycle using the abiotic sulfur compounds present in their habitat. Representatives of the Sulfurimonas genus were among the main chemoautotrophs, since they predominated in eleven different temperature-redox pair culture combinations. Based on the observations, a conceptual model was proposed to describe the interactions in this sulfur-rich deposit that may occur between the microorganisms, the physico-chemical conditions and the sulfur compounds supplied by the environment. Video Abstract.
On 8 October 2023 UTC, significant tsunamis were observed around Japan
without any major tsunamigenic earthquake, associated with a series of
14 successive minor earthquakes (mb = 4.5–5.4) near Sofugan in the
Izu-Bonin islands. To examine the cause of this tsunami, we estimated
the horizontal locations of the tsunami source and temporal history of
the seafloor displacement, using the tsunami data recorded by the
ocean-bottom pressure gauges > ~600 km
away. Our results showed the main tsunami source was an uplift located
at a caldera-like bathymetric feature near Sofugan, suggesting the
involvement of caldera activity in the tsunami generation. The total
seafloor uplift was larger than ~3 m, and the uplift
amount of each event gradually increased over time, reflecting an
accelerating occurrence of multiple sudden caldera uplifts within only a
few hours.
Faunal assemblages at hydrothermal vents associated with island-arc volcanism are less well known than those at vents on mid-ocean ridges and back-arc spreading centres. This study characterizes chemosynthetic biotopes at active hydrothermal vents discovered at the Kemp Caldera in the South Sandwich Arc. The caldera hosts sulfur and anhydrite vent chimneys in 1375-1487 m depth, which emit sulfide-rich fluids with temperatures up to 212°C, and the microbial community of water samples in the buoyant plume rising from the vents was dominated by sulfur-oxidizing Gammaproteobacteria. A total of 12 macro- and megafaunal taxa depending on hydrothermal activity were collected in these biotopes, of which seven species were known from the East Scotia Ridge (ESR) vents and three species from vents outside the Southern Ocean. Faunal assemblages were dominated by large vesicomyid clams, actinostolid anemones, <i>Sericosura</i> sea spiders and lepetodrilid and cocculinid limpets, but several taxa abundant at nearby ESR hydrothermal vents were rare such as the stalked barnacle <i>Neolepas scotiaensis</i>. Multivariate analysis of fauna at Kemp Caldera and vents in neighbouring areas indicated that the Kemp Caldera is most similar to vent fields in the previously established Southern Ocean vent biogeographic province, showing that the species composition at island-arc hydrothermal vents can be distinct from nearby seafloor-spreading systems. <i>δ</i> <sup>13</sup>C and <i>δ</i> <sup>15</sup>N isotope values of megafaunal species analysed from the Kemp Caldera were similar to those of the same or related species at other vent fields, but none of the fauna sampled at Kemp Caldera had <i>δ</i> <sup>13</sup>C values, indicating nutritional dependence on Epsilonproteobacteria, unlike fauna at other island-arc hydrothermal vents.
One of the largest explosive eruptions instrumentally recorded occurred at Hunga volcano on 15 January 2022. The magma plumbing system under this volcano is unexplored because of inherent difficulties caused by its submarine setting. We use marine gravity data derived from satellite altimetry combined with multibeam bathymetry to model the architecture and dynamics of the magmatic system before and after the January 2022 eruption. We provide geophysical evidence for substantial high-melt content magma accumulation in three reservoirs at shallow depths (2 to 10 kilometers) under the volcano. We estimate that less than ~30% of the existing magma was evacuated by the main eruptive phases, enough to trigger caldera collapse. The eruption and caldera collapse reorganized magma storage, resulting in an increased connectivity between the two spatially distinct reservoirs. Modeling global satellite altimetry-derived gravity data at undersea volcanoes offer a promising reconnaissance tool to probe the subsurface for eruptible magma.
Abstract Notwithstanding submarine volcanic eruptions carrying crucial information on the tectonics of Earth and volcanic hazards in the ocean, they are inadequately studied and poorly characterized. Here, we report detection of three types of submarine volcano totaling 6208 eruptions from 2010-2022 in the northwest Pacific Ocean based on hydroacoustic data, with the subduction-related volcanoes in the Izu-Bonin and Mariana Arcs and West Mata, the rift-related volcanoes in the Mariana Back-Arc spreading center, Kyushu-Palau Ridge, and both subduction- and rift-related volcanoes at the junction of the Izu-Bonin and Mariana Arcs and the Mariana Back-Arc spreading center. The detected widespread submarine volcano eruptions reveal vastly under-cataloged undersea volcanic hazards and delineate a back-arc formation system in the western Mariana Trench evolving from initial arc forming and arc splitting to a mature back-arc system.
submarine volcanoes on the ocean floor. In shallow water, active volcanoes disclose their presence by blasting steam and rocky debris high above the ocean's
A volcano is a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and because most of Earth's plate boundaries are underwater, most volcanoes are found underwater. For example, a mid-ocean ridge, such as the
Submarine volcanoes are common features of the ocean floor. Volcanic activity during the Holocene Epoch has been documented at only 119 submarine volcanoes, but there may be more than one million geologically young submarine volcanoes on the ocean floor. In shallow water, active volcanoes disclose their presence by blasting steam and rocky debris high above the ocean's surface. In the deep ocean basins, the tremendous weight of the water prevents the explosive release of steam and gases; however, submarine eruptions can be detected by hydrophones and by the discoloration of water because of volcanic gases. Pillow lava is a common eruptive product of submarine volcanoes and is characterized by thick sequences of discontinuous pillow-shaped masses which form underwater. Even large submarine eruptions may not disturb the ocean surface, due to the rapid cooling effect and increased buoyancy in water (as compared to air), which often causes volcanic vents to form steep pillars on the ocean floor. Hydrothermal vents are common near these volcanoes, and some support peculiar ecosystems based on chemotrophs feeding on dissolved minerals. Over time, the formations created by submarine volcanoes may become so large that they break the ocean surface as new islands or floating pumice rafts.
In May and June 2018, a multitude of seismic signals were detected by earthquake monitoring agencies all over the world. They took the form of unusual humming sounds, and some of the signals detected in November of that year had a duration of up to 20 minutes. An oceanographic research campaign in May 2019 showed that the previously mysterious humming noises were caused by the formation of a submarine volcano off the coast of Mayotte.
Abstract Huge pumice rafts produced by the 2021 Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba submarine eruption arrived at many Japanese ports and islands, damaging fisheries and hindering marine traffic and trade. To investigate when and how much pumice might intersect trade routes and arrive at islands after future eruptions, we conducted particle tracking simulations of eruptions at major volcanic islands and submarine volcanoes near Japan (submarine volcano NNE of Iriomotejima, Izu-Tobu Volcanoes, Miyakejima, Bayonnaise Rocks, Nishinoshima, Kaitoku Seamount, and Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba) based on the velocity field from the ocean reanalysis dataset. We approximately reproduced the distribution of pumice arrivals recorded after the 1986 Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba eruption, demonstrating the effectiveness of the simulations. We report likely pumice raft arrivals and drifting durations for the investigated eruptive scenarios, which may aid future risk assessments for pumice arrivals.
all the volcanic eruptions in the province occurred on the ocean floor. In the last 20.2 million years, enough lava has accumulated at several of the underwater
The geology of the Canary Islands is dominated by volcanoes and volcanic rock. The Canary Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Northwest Africa. Geologically, the main islands are Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro. There are also some minor islands and islets. The Canary Islands are on the African
submarine (seamount) stage (El Hijo de Tenerife seamount)
shield-building stage (La Palma, El Hierro)
erosional stage (La Gomera)
post-erosional (or rejuvenation) stage (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura)
The Canary Islands differ from some other volcanic oceanic islands, such as the Hawaiian Islands: for example, the Canary Islands have stratovolcanoes, compression structures and a…
The Hawaiian Islands form a chain of volcanic mounds on a fairly level ocean‐floor. The largest and most recent are at the southeast end of the chain. There are still several active volcanoes on Hawaii, the largest island of the group. The Coast and Geodetic Survey has 19 astronomical latitude‐observations and 15 gravity‐determinations on the larger islands of the Hawaiian group. The large positive isostatic gravity‐anomalies and the isostatic deflections in the meridian indicate very definitely that the Hawaiian Islands are by no means isostatically compensated. Major William Bowie and C. H. Swick have frequently called attention to the large positive gravity‐anomalies indicating the uncompensated island‐masses. In 1924, Mr. Swick computed the density of the island‐blocks of Hawaii and Oahu from the gravity‐anomalies at Mauna Kea and Honolulu, respectively, assuming the extra mass to be in the island‐blocks. The islands were assumed to be compensated. He arrived at a density of 3.62 for Hawaii and 3.34 for Oahu. In his studies of the gravity‐anomalies in the Hawaiian Islands, Roy W. Goranson [The density of the Island of Hawaii and density distribution in the Earth's crust, Amer. J. Sci., v. 16, pp. 90–120, August 1928] comes to this conclusion: “The inference is, too, that the volcanic islands of the Pacific are essentially uncompensated (sinking) loads on the sub‐Pacific crust.”
Detailed studies by submersible were carried out in the axial zone of the Red Sea Rift near 18"N during the Soviet Red Sea expedition of the Oceanological Institute of the Academy of Sciences (December 1979-March 1980). The initial bathymetric, magnetic and seismic surveys established the general organization of the symmetric tectonic steps (1-3) descending towards the axial rift. The 45 km wide inner floor of the rift was explored during 21 dives. It is occupied by 100-300 m high, young pillowed volcanoes, isolated or grouped to form elongated hills, frequently cut by open fissures except in the zone of most recent extrusion. The 42 samples collected are typical plagioclase k olivine 5 clinopyroxene & spinel, more or less porphyritic mid-ocean ridge basalts whose compositions were mainly controlled by polybaric fractionation of plagioclase, olivine and minor clinopyroxene. They have been separated into porphyritic and sub-alfhyric groups using modes andmineralogical criteria. Mineral-liquid equilibria, crystal zonation, andmodal proportions indicate some magma mixing but probably only of closely related magma batches within each described group, as can occur inside a single magma chamber. Crystal accumulation is believed to have played a significant role in only a few porphyritic samples. Three sub-groups (from less to more evolved; (a) FeO*/MgO 1.49) were distinguished on the basis of glass and whole-rock major element chemistry. Glass compositions follow the multisaturated
by submarine eruptions in a bay of the Mediterranean, and Vesuvius in like manner represents what was originally a volcano on the sea- floor . As the ejectamenta
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