Volcano, named after the Roman god of Fire, Vulcan, is a natural phenomenon in Earth. 78It refers to a small vent on earth’s crust through which lava comes out which is responsible for the disastrous effect of an eruption. Apart from the disastrous effects caused by volcanoes on land, there are thousands of submarine volcanoes which are causing effects that are seldom noticed as their effects are not seen on land. Underwater volcanoes occur mainly near the tectonic plates and are fissures that erupts lava under water which leads to increase in the temperature of water and changes in the atmosphere of earth’s surface. There are 5000 active volcanoes around the world and 20,000 volcanoes under Pacific Ocean alone. Underwater volcanoes not only occur in deep oceans but also in shallow waters and when eruptions occur in shallow waters, lava also erupt over nearby shore or land regions, leading to the formation of pillow lava or lava crust. As ocean density is higher than the earth’s mantle it creates pressure over the surface of earth and the surface of earth rips apart. Once the crack is formed, pressure decreases and the sea floor the sink on mantle. The buoyant liquid or magma emerges as lava through these cracks, leading to the phenomenon called eruption. Lava can also accumulate to form underwater ridges. Many islands have also formed as a result of underwater eruptions. The eruption of underwater volcanoes account for 75 percent magma output. Such eruptions have lead to the formation of Morocco Rock and Molokini crater and new islands like Sutsey, Iceland. There is lot of difference between underwater and land volcanic eruptions as water pressure and thermal conductivity is higher than air and magma settles down much faster than on land. Some examples of volcanoes underwater include the following, Hawaiian Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest peak, Brothers volcano, New Zealand, Monowai seamount, Rumble 1, Loihi seamount, Healy volcano, Barren island in Andaman sea, South pacific Vailulu’i, Kick’em Jenny, Heimaey in Iceland Caribbean sea, Aleutian islands in Alaska, Mt Marsili in Europe, etc.. One of the best capturing of live underwater volcanic eruption is that of the NW-Rota-1 near Japan. One interesting fact about an underwater volcano near Guam is that despite the active eruptions, there is booming population of sea creatures like fishes, shrimps, which have developed special adaptations like pruning claws, to prey on the foods in the volcanic environment.
