>> NARRATOR: Scientists believe that 80% of
all eruptive activity on Earth takes place
in the ocean,
yet only a handful of underwater eruptions
have ever been documented.
Scientists with the Vents Program at NOAA's
Pacific Marine Environmental Lab,
along with university partners,
have figured out a way to find these needles
in a haystack.
Tectonic plate boundaries are home to a flurry
of activity
due to the stress of one plate coming into
contact with another.
Dr. Joe Resing and his colleagues traveled
to the Northeast Lau Basin in 2008
where active subduction and seafloor spreading
is occurring
making it the perfect spot to hunt for activity.
>> RESING: The first step in finding an erupting
underwater volcano
is to make detailed bathymetric maps of the
area.
The Mata volcano range is home to many volcanic-like
structures
with West Mata having a clearly defined conical
top.
>> NARRATOR: Located in over 9,000 feet of
water,
West Mata is 5,000 feet tall,
comparable in size to the land volcano Stromboli
off the north coast of Sicily.
>> RESING: Next, we lower an instrument in
the water
that can see smoke-like particles produced
by the volcano
and collect water samples.
These water samples are then analyzed
for chemicals that are indicative of a possible
eruption.
>> NARRATOR: Scientists went back to West
Mata in 2009 to try and capture an eruption
on camera
using the Remotely Operated Vehicle JASON.
What Joe and his colleagues saw was beyond
their wildest expectations.
[Deep volcano rumbling]
>> RESING: We observed molten lava flowing
across the deep-ocean seafloor for the very
first time
giving us a firsthand look at the way ocean
islands and submarine volcanoes are born.
Shrimp were the only animals thriving in this
acidic environment where some eruptive fluids
were as acidic as battery acid.
>> NARRATOR: Scientists returned to West Mata
a year later
and it was still erupting.
The discovery of the West Mata volcano will
continue to provide invaluable information
on how heat and matter are transferred from
the interior of the Earth to its surface
and how life adapts to some of the harshest
conditions on Earth.
Where will the next active submarine volcano
be found?
Follow the Vents Program online to find out!
