|
|
FOR RELEASE ON Monday, May 15, 2000 12:00 AM PDTMonday, May 15, 2000 Scientists Find Active Underwater Volcano East of Samoa Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego Marine geologists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) have confirmed the existence of an active underwater volcano east of Samoa. The volcano, recently named Vailuluu by local students, is located about 28 miles east of Tau Island and rises more than 16,400 feet from the seafloor to within 2,000 feet of the ocean surface. The scientists found billowing "smoggy" water in the summit and extending out for more than five miles.Mapped and sampled last year for the first time, Stanley Hart of WHOI and Hubert Staudigel and Dave Willoughby of SIO returned in March of this year to search for evidence that the volcano is actively erupting. By towing an instrument behind the ship that measures the turbidity or particulate matter in the water column, the researchers were able to show that the summit crater of the volcano is filled with billowing "smoggy" water. This "smog" extends out from the top of the volcano, in the form of a halo, for more than five miles. Both the 1999 and 2000 cruises were funded by the National Science Foundation. The scientists were working from the U.S.Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star, which was on its return trip from Antarctica after "summering" there since December. Helicopters from the ship picked up the scientists on Fiji March 19, and the ship arrived on top of the volcano the next day. The circular summit crater of Vailuluu is 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) deep and 2,000 meters (about 6,500 feet) wide, and appears to be the location of the current volcanic activity. The scientists first surveyed the water in and around Vailuluu for turbidity, temperature and salinity using a "tow-yo" technique. While the ship steams slowly along a chosen track, the instrument package is continuously lowered and raised on the end of a cable, and the various readings are displayed on-deck in real time. The surveys indicated the "smog" outside the crater was restricted to a layer in the water between depths of 600 and 800 meters (about 1,950 to 2,600 feet deep), and is apparently being carried out of the crater and dispersed by ocean currents. Water samples were collected during the profiling, and these are being analyzed for chemical constituents that may shed light on the nature of the process forming the "smog." The scientists also deployed five hydrophones, or underwater microphones, onto the upper reaches of the volcano, including the crater floor. These instruments will "listen" for and record earthquakes and other volcanic rumblings until they are retrieved next spring. Hart and his colleagues say their finding of a dense smog layer justifies a return mission to Vailuluu with a major exploration campaign utilizing submersibles and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Future work will involve searching the crater area for hot springs and possible associated biological communities, and mapping the lava flows as a means for understanding how such submarine volcanoes are constructed and how they grow to become ocean islands. The origin of the Samoa island chain has long been debated among geochemists and other earth scientists. Some argue that the islands have followed a classic hot spot track, like the Hawaiian islands. Others argue instead that the origin is related to rifting or crustal plate activity associated with the northern terminus or end point of the Tonga Trench, based on the presence of active young volcanos along the chain from Savaii to Tau. Harts says the discovery of Vailuluu Volcano, well to the east of any possible influence from the Tonga Trench, and therefore the newest of the Samoan volcanoes, supports a hot spot model for the Samoan chain. "Just as Loihi is the newest volcano in the Hawaiian chain," he notes, "Vailuluu is the Samoan equivalent of Loihi." First discovered in 1975 by Rockne Johnson and named Rockne Volcano, this seamount was the site of a swarm of sizable earthquakes in January 1995, perhaps signaling the beginning of its current eruptive cycle. Prompted by this earthquake swarm, Hart and Staudigel mapped and sampled the seamount in March 1999. Unaware at the time of the 1975 discovery by Johnson, they informally named the seamount Faafafine Volcano. The school children of American Samoa recently held a contest to pick a more lasting name. The winning entry, Vailuluu, was submitted by Taulealo Vaofusi from Samoa High School, and announced during the 100th year Flag Day celebration on April 21, 2000. Vailuluu is the sacred sprinkling of rain that reportedly always fell as a blessing just before a gathering of the great King Tuimanua, an icon of Samoan cultural life. "Officially naming Vailuluu at the 100th Flag Day celebration," Hart adds, "welcomed the, as yet unborn, newest island to the culturally rich Samoan archipelago." # # # # # # Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. The National Research Council has ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,300, and annual expenditures of approximately $155 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration. |
|
