The Weather Network – NASA spotted a floating island and a volcano is to blame

During the eruption of volcanoes, the inhabitants of the region are generally concerned about the usual threats such as lava flows or ashes and debris thrown by the cone.

Sometimes, however, rashes can produce some wrinkles that catch the eye, as shown in the picture below: A floating "island" made up of volcanic rock, winding in the Pacific.

Image: NASA

It actually floats and the explanation is not science fiction. The countless rocks that compose it are pumice stone, which begins with a superheated rock ejected during eruptions. As it cools rapidly, air bubbles are trapped in it, which often makes it light enough to float in the water.

This "island" was detected earlier in August and the above image was captured by NASA's Landsat 8 satellite on August 13th. It was reported for the first time by sailors on August 7 and a boat, the catamaran. Wander, actually sailed close enough to August 15 to take samples.

The crew described a "sheet of rubble made of rocks ranging from marble to
basketball size such that the water was not visible ", as well as the smell of sulfur (you can read their account here).

We do not know where the rubble is coming from. There are several volcanoes in the area, in the waters of the Tongan Archipelago, and NASA says the evidence suggests that an unnamed submarine volcano would be the possible source (citing Smithsonian Institute volcanologists).

Although it appears as a solid form in orbit (and a huge one, the size of Manhattan), its nature as a set of many small to medium sized rocks means that it could not stand the weight of a the person.

Image: NASA

This excludes it as a potential vacation spot, but the nutrient-rich raft is a boon to life in the area.

"Pumice rafts can drift for weeks or years, slowly dispersing in the ocean currents, and these pieces of pumice eventually become excellent drifting houses for marine organisms, helping them spread." said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist from the University of Denison, at the Earth Observatory at NASA.

As such, the raft can prove to be a stroke of luck for the Great Australian Barrier Reef, in whose general direction the raft floats. The heat waves in the sea in recent years have devastated the organisms that make up the corals of the Great Barrier Reef and others, and Professor Scott Bryan of the Queensland University of Technology told ABC that arrival of the raft in the next 12 months would be a major asset for its recovery. .

"We are going to have millions of individual corals and many other organisms that will all come together, with the potential to find new homes along our coast," Bryan told the broadcaster.

WATCH BELOW: SPECTACULAR VIDEO VIDEO OF THE LAVA S ESTABLISHING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN