Islands are often formed by volcanic eruptions. It is a natural phenomenon of this planet Earth for millions of years and it still occurs today. However, it rarely gets seen and documented live.
That’s what makes the voyage of the Maiken on August 12, 2006 so unusual. Captain Fredrik Fransson sailed his boat literally through the early stages of an emerging island, then took photos of the trip and ensuing eruption and island-forming shortly thereafter.
It is a remarkable short journey and somewhat harrowing after the fact. If the Maiken had sailed through the area a few minutes later, then an underwater volcano eruption would have emerged right under them!
Fortunately for Fransson, their timing was impeccable enough to survive and provide photographic evidence of what went down. What looked like a sandbar was merely the early stages of the eruption, leading to land forming on the water surface.
It was truly an amazing sight. Unfortunately, as this article in Discover magazine documented, the land mass didn’t last for long. Still, watching the events unfold can be quite an experience.
Volcanic eruptions usually are the source of island-forming, especially out in the middle of an ocean. Eruptions occur as magma bursts through the Earth crust and deposits lava on the ocean floor. This builds up underwater mountains that build over time. Eventually, the lava builds breaches the surface and landmass development starts occurring.
Perhaps the most famous known volcanic eruption came in November in 1963 when the island of Surtsey was formed just off the southern tip of Iceland. Eruptions lasted for nearly four years before Surtsey became a part of Iceland with an island size of approximately 2.7 square kilometers. However, the history of Surtsey may also be short-lived as erosion has caused its size to shrink nearly in half as of today.
Featured image by Neville Wootton/Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
