O eruptie vulcanica submarina care s-a produs in Arhipelagul Tonga a dus la scufundarea unei insule si la crearea alteia de trei ori mai mare decat aceasta, potrivit unui raport al unor geologi ce a fost prezentat joi.
Denumita Lateiki, noua insula are o lungime de 400 de metri, o latime de aproximativ 100 de metri si se afla la 120 de metri vest fata de insula care a fost acoperita de ape, a dezvaluit Taaniela Kula, cercetatoare la Serviciul geologic din Tonga.
Ea se afla intre Kao si Late, doua teritorii din Insulele Ha'apai, o diviziune administrativa din nordul regatului Tonga, informeaza AFP.
Evenimentul a avut loc la 18 zile dupa o eruptie submarina din luna octombrie intr-o regiune adeseori zguduita de cutremure de pamant si care prezinta o activitate vulcanica regulata.
O alta eruptie vulcanica submarina din 2014 a dat nastere unei insule care este in prezent acoperita de vegetatie si populata de pasari.
Arhipelagul Tonga, care are 107.000 de locuitori si 170 de insule raspandite pe o suprafata de 700 de kilometri patrati, figureaza in top 20 al tarilor ce prezinta cel mai mare risc de dezastre naturale (cicloane, seisme, eruptii vulcanice), potrivit ONU.
Situat la 2.000 de kilometri nord-est de Noua Zeelanda si la 650 de kilometri est de Fiji, Arhipelagul Tonga face parte din "Cercul de foc al Pacificului", unde mai multe placi continentale intra frecvent in coliziune, provocand o importanta activitate seismica.
🔴The Metis Shoal in #Tonga 🇹🇴 has erupted, sending a plume of smoke 3 miles high into the sky. As spotted by @mfordNZ, it was captured by #Sentinel2🛰️🇪🇺 on 15 October.
Check out this before/after animation of the eruption #activeearth pic.twitter.com/ZsCxe5RWQA
- Copernicus EU (@CopernicusEU) October 17, 2019
Since mid-Oct we've been tracking the #Lateiki (#Metis Shoal) #eruption with satellite imagery. By Nov 1 an elongated island has appeared at the main focus of activity. In the right most image we have combined the 1st and last images showing the 1995 dome appears to have gone. pic.twitter.com/tSukPm6car
- GeoNet (@geonet) November 4, 2019
A new island formed 120m west of #Lateiki Island (aka Metis Shoal), is three times bigger than its predecessor, which submerged in an #eruption from October 13-31, in the Ha'apai group, #Tonga Geological Service reported today. https://t.co/wsKaoB7ONP pic.twitter.com/n6wYDIUVX8
- Matangi Tonga Online (@TongaNews) November 6, 2019