A new island near Japan created in a violent underwater volcanic eruption has continued to spew smoke and molten rock. Japanese coastguards have released a video of the volcanic outcrop which has been named Niijima meaning “new island”.
The island appeared in the sea hundreds of miles south of Tokyo last month, growing to a few hundred feet in length. The new land formation, which is just a few hundred feet long, is off the coast of the larger island of Iwo Jima.
The coastguard video shows the debris and smoke from the volcanic eruption being sent high into the air. Appearing near the Ogasawara island chain, the island is located around half a mile off the coast of Iwo Jima.
Scientists warn the island, made from accumulated volcanic ash and rocks, may be washed away soon. The new land mass has reached a height of about 66 feet above sea level.
Japan has 111 active volcanoes, with the majority of them located around the Pacific Ring of Fire. The construction of new islands as a result of undersea volcanoes and seismic activity is not unusual.
A decade-long eruption in Nishinoshima in 2013, for example, resulted in the formation of a new island. With over a hundred active volcanoes, Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
An analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency’s volcanic division told the Telegraph the island could soon crumble away into the sea. Yuji Usui told the newspaper: “We just have to see the development, but the island may not last very long.”
During World War II, Iwo Jima saw heavy fighting, and the site of the iconic photograph of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi in February 1945.
