NASA studies the birth of an unusual island

NASA has been tracking the growth and estimating the longevity of a recently formed volcanic island.

The island began to form in December of 2014 when, according to NASA, “a submarine volcano in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga erupted, sending a violent stream of steam, ash and rock into the air.”

“The most dramatic changes to the island occurred in its first six months. Initially, the new island was relatively oval and attached to its neighboring island to the west. However, by April analysis of satellite imagery found that its shape had changed dramatically,” the agency further notes.

Signs of stabilization emerged in late 2016, and experts, who initially projected its lifespan to be only months now believe it could survive for up to 30 years.

This is the first such mass to form in the satellite age, and researchers are keeping a close watch on it for a variety of scientific reasons, one of them being the insights into Martian history it could provide.

“Everything we learn about what we see on Mars is based on the experience of interpreting Earth phenomena,” Jim Garvin, one of the team members, said. “We think there were eruptions on Mars at a time when there were areas of persistent surface water. We may be able to use this new Tongan island and its evolution as a way of testing whether any of those represented an oceanic environment or ephemeral lake environment.”

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