New Island Appears in Red Sea During Volcanic Eruption

A volcanic eruption in the Red Sea has led to the possible formation of a new island where previously there had been nothing but unbroken water.

October 24, 2007

December 23, 2011

The volcanic activity took place along the Zubair Group, “a collection of small islands off the west coast of Yemen,” according to NASA.

Photos taken by NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometre (MODIS) on December 20 and 22 show a massive plume of smoke billowing from a solid land mass. Fisherman had witnessed lava fountains reaching up to 30 metres (90 feet) tall on December 19.

The images above are from October 24, 2007 (top) and December 23, 2011 (bottom).

Source: NASA Earth Observatory

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