Volcanic eruption creates a new island in Tonga

#volcaniceruption #tonga #volcanologist A new island has been created as a result of a volcanic eruption in Tonga - the volcano has been erupting for a month in the ocean about 40 miles northwest of the capital, Nuku'alofa.
The eruption started on December 20 for the first time in five years and is reported to have affected international air travel to the Pacific archipelago for several days last week. This is as per information of the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry.
New Zealand volcanologist Nico Fournier has apparently traveled by boat to within about a mile of the new island to take a closer look and he has described the new island as made up mainly of loose scoria. The dimensions of the new island are about 1.1 miles by 0.9 miles, and it rises to approximately 109 yards above the sea.
Fournier is employed by the New Zealand agency GNS Science, and in his opinion, once the volcano stops erupting, it will be lost due to erosion by the ocean within a few months. If it had been made up of lava, its chances of survival would have been better.
Fournier has also indicated that the depth of the ocean around the island is fairly shallow, perhaps only about 328-656 feet deep, and no name has yet been assigned for this new entity. That responsibility rests with the King of Tonga since the naming rights are held by him.
Incidentally, Tonga lies on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” which is a place where continental plates keep colliding and causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.