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Scientists are on their way to the site of a large undersea volcano that has been erupting for days near Tonga, sending columns of smoke and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the Pacific Ocean. (18. Mar. 09)
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Submarine volcanoes are underwater fissures in the earth's surface from which
magma can erupt and are usually caused by shifting of
tectonic plates. Most are located in the depths of oceans, but some do exist in shallow water, and it is these which throw material into the air during an eruption.
Tonga, a 170-island
archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti, is part of the Pacific "ring of fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones where continental plates in the earth's crust collide.
Source: The Times
