I’m really glad Dr. Klemetti covered this on his Discovery blog Rocky Planet:
The fastest way to make a new island is volcanism. The island of Nishino-shima in Japan has doubled in a little over 7 years, all thanks to lava flows.
Like many volcanophiles, I’ve been enjoying the show this new volcanic island has been putting on lately, mainly through the Volcano News group on Facebook.
There aren’t many other online video sources — Nishino-shima is so remote that only Japan’s coast guard and satellites can monitor it regularly.
They are watching it closely, too, because the volcano may be getting more explosive.
That would pose a hazard for air traffic, something that hasn’t been much of a concern from Nishino-shima’s lovely fire fountains.
This video shows the volcano in a somewhat uglier mood.
By the way, what we see is only the summit of much larger Nishino-shima Volcano:
Figure 2, Tamura et al., open access.
Here’s more information:
- Japan Meteorological Agency volcanic warnings page (English). Nishino-shima updates will appear here as needed
- GVP page
- Tokyo VAAC recent advisories
Featured image: Nishino-shima on July 4, 2020; Sentinel imagery uploaded by Pierre Markuse, CC BY 2.0
Flight To Wonder 