A submarine explosion from Nishinoshima breaches the surface on 9 October 1973. Steam trails behind ejected hot blocks at the margin of the plume. Submarine eruptions began on 12 April 1973 and the new island was first observed on 11 September. Lava flows began in September and three new islands were formed, which joined together during October-November 1973.

Photo courtesy of Japan Meteorological Agency, 1973.

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Galleries: Submarine Volcanoes

Keywords: eruption | lava water interaction | Surtseyan | pyroclastic surge | explosive eruption | phreatomagmatic | cock’s-tail plume | submarine volcano

Nishinoshima