Scientists believed that somewhere under the waters of the Pacific Ocean, a volcano erupted. They assumed that it must have happened likely around the island of Tonga. There is no proof until the people saw huge rocks traveling across the waters of the Pacific Ocean. A sprawling raft of lightweight volcanic rocks called pumice were floating in the waters.
NASA, the space agency has recently posted images of the drifting mass on rocks on August 23, 2019. Although the first geologic display was spotted sometime in the middle of August, the huge number of these floating rocks have been spotted recently.
Many of the world's volcanoes are hidden underwater in the oceans of the world. In particular, there are a great number of volcanoes around the Pacific Ring of fire making it vulnerable to volcanic eruptions. Although most of these unexpected eruptions don't disrupt the lives of communities living in the islands surrounding the Pacific Ocean, several of them experience its effects in the long run.
"Many volcanoes are shrouded by the waters of the oceans," wrote NASA. "When these volcanoes erupt, they can cause discoloration in the waters with their debris and various gases that they release. Also, they can give off lava that is basically lighter than water."
As of August 13 of this year, the raft of pumice has been scaled and identified as something larger than the island of Manhattan. That means it is larger than 23 square miles in size. Pumice is a kind of rock that is created after a volcanic eruption, wherein the gas that is trapped in molten rocks explodes. The scorching hot material then releases a violent pressure, from there, this light type of rock is formed. '
Adventure sailors from catamaran have met the pumice raft up close. They have reported to have encountered pumice in varying sizes from marbles to basketballs. Some of which have been seen are still jammed up to their rudders. The team has also noted that there is that ominous smell of sulfur wafting through the air.
The oceans will incrementally get rid of what can be considered a geologic wonder, and it is not uncommon for some marine life to hitch a ride on these floating stones. Some of them can journey around the world just by taking a ride with one of these pumice stones.
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