Submarine volcanic eruptions and intrusions construct new oceanic crust and build long chains of volcanic islands and vast submarine plateaus. Magmatic events are a primary agent for the transfer of heat, chemicals, and even microbes from the crust to the ocean, but the processes that control these transfers are poorly...
Mid-ocean ridge volcanism and extensional faulting are the fundamental processes that lead to the creation and rifting of oceanic crust, yet these events go largely undetected in the deep ocean. Currently, the only means available to observe seafloor-spreading events in real time is via the remote detection of the seismicity...
A network of autonomous underwater hydrophones is used to monitor acoustic activity associated with Hunga Ha'apai-Hunga Tonga volcano during a period of 15 months. The data provide a continuous record spanning a surtseyan eruption (VEI 2) in March of 2009, which input ~10¹³ J of acoustic energy into the ocean...
We present multiple lines of evidence for years to decade-long changes in the location and
character of volcanic activity at West Mata seamount in the NE Lau basin over a 16 year period, and a hiatus
in summit eruptions from early 2011 to at least September 2012. Boninite lava and...
Full Text:
at West Mata
seamount, NE Lau basin: 1996–2012
Robert W. Embley1, Susan G. Merle2, Edward T. Baker3
Volcanic eruptions are important events in Earth’s cycle of magma generation and crustal construction. Over durations of hours to years, eruptions produce new deposits of lava and/or fragmentary ejecta, transfer heat and magmatic volatiles from Earth’s interior to the overlying air or seawater, and significantly modify the landscape and perturb...