17/08/2021
Ring of fire new born island in the pacific?
The Japanese Coast Guard revealed a new island near Iwo Jima, about 1,200 km south of Tokyo, after the submarine volcano began to explode last weekend. The new island is Cshaped with a diameter of about 1 km. The volcano was discovered after a volcano about 50 km south of Iwo Jima, part of the Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific Ocean, began to differentiate on Friday.
The Meteorological Agency has issued warnings about smoke and large ash deposits in nearby waters as an active eruption is expected to continue. The coast guard found the newly formed island when it observed the eruption from the air on Sunday, according to the weather agency. Pumice created by the volcanic activity was also found by the coast guard floating across a 60km area in a northwest direction. New islands have been confirmed in the area in 1904, 1914 and 1986, with all of them having submerged due to erosion by waves and currents.
The one found in 1986 sank after about two months, according to the coast guard. As the submarine volcano is located near South Iwo Jima, the southernmost islet in the island chain, any new island in the area could be added to Japan's territory if recognized as a naturally formed island by international standards. Given the location, however, the new island is unlikely to affect the country's territorial waters or exclusive economic zone even if it remains above the surface.
