With polar islands shrinking and ocean islands sinking, as a consequence of global warming, an island in British Overseas Territory is expanding out of a rare volcanic eruption. It is the Montagu Island, an erupting volcano in the South Sandwich Islands, South Atlantic that has grown by 50 acres (0.2 km2), equivalent to 40 football pitches in the last month. Spectacular new satellite images show this. A large and fast flowing lava flow is pouring into the sea like a huge waterfall there, researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) were alerted to satellite data showing the phenomenon. Red hot lava is said to have formed a molten river 90 meters wide that is moving fast, possibly several meters per second and extending the shoreline on the north side of the island. But, what is so special with the event? We all know, Montagu Island is mostly ice covered. Thus it’s very rare that the scientists get to make direct observations of eruptions under ice sheets. Thanks to the satellite images.
Via: Eureka Alert