The eruptions of submarine volcanoes transmit enormous amounts of energy to the ocean. A new study finds that a single eruption of a submarine volcano in Northern Escanaba, Michigan, alone can generate enough energy to power the entire United States for several days.
The eruptions of land-based volcanoes are quite spectacular, and the eruptions produce thick ash that has a great impact on aircraft passing nearby, as well as a certain impact on the climate of the region surrounding the volcano. However, most volcanic activity on Earth actually occurs deep under the sea.
A study published in Nature Communications on April 21 examined undersea volcanic eruptions and found that they have a greater and more widespread impact on the surrounding environment than terrestrial volcanoes.
Eruptions of submarine volcanoes also produce large amounts of ash, and they have a different effect on the sea floor than on land: they produce giant storms formed by boiling hot water, also called megaplumes. They are so large that they are about the volume of 40 million Olympic-standard swimming pools.
Scientists have been searching for years for the source of these megaplumes, studying their impact on the marine environment and life, but most of the undersea volcanic eruptions occur in very remote areas of the Earth, difficult to detect.
This time, volcanologists at the University of Leeds (UK) have explored submarine volcanic eruptions based on observations from a 2009 study, combined with mathematical modeling.
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research analyzed lava flows collected in the northeastern Pacific Ocean from submarine volcanic eruptions in North Escanaba, Michigan. That study showed that the North Escanaba vent heated seawater into a column of hot flows that carried large amounts of volcanic rock and debris that could reach as far as three miles from the eruption’s center.
Researchers at the University of Leeds have constructed models based on this data that can predict the energy released by these eruptions.
Lead researcher David Ferguson said in an email to the vice news website, “Our results show that a single eruption has enough energy to power the United States for a period of time, ranging from a few hours to a few days. Of course, the likelihood that we will be able to harness this energy is slim, because we don’t know when and where they erupt, let alone how to reach the site with any instruments.”
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