What Happens When Undersea Volcanoes Erupt?

Volcanoes are like sleeping demons, who wake up occasionally, but once they wake up, they wreak havoc on the world and fall silent. But do you know there are many such volcanoes that are not present on the land but beneath the ocean's surface? Such volcanoes are called Submarine volcanoes and the total number of such volcanoes is estimated to be more than one million. Many submarine volcanoes are seamounts, a large submarine landform, rising from the ocean floor. 

Sometimes when these volcanoes erupt, a whole new island is formed. This has already happened in 1963 when during a voyage a ship saw smoke rising in the ocean. At first, they thought that a ship had caught fire, but upon closer inspection, they realized that a volcano was erupting. From this eruption, an island was formed in the middle of the ocean, which was named Surtsey. Today this island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been preserved since its formation, on which only scientists are allowed to set foot so that they can do research.

Now because these volcanoes are inside the ocean, the chances of their eruption are very less, but if you are considering them less dangerous then you are making a big mistake here. If the volcano present on the earth erupts, it will be most likely that the people living in the surrounding areas will be harmed. But the underwater volcano has the power to submerge the whole world into the water. These volcanoes contain lava which after eruption creates pressure in the ocean, causing tsunamis to occur. These tsunamis are very dangerous and could be the cause of a lot of devastation. After the eruption of such volcanoes, the surrounding aquatic creatures also suffer a lot.

The oceans are home to many large and powerful volcanoes as some scientists estimate that there are over 4,000 volcanoes per million square kilometers on the floor of the Pacific Ocean alone. The largest underwater volcano on record is the Tamu Massif, covering an area of about 120,000 square miles. The speed of explosiveness of volcanic eruptions can be measured with the help of the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI). Submarine volcanoes are located at different places under the oceans, but due to frequent eruptions in the Pacific Ocean, volcanoes are spread all around in a circular arc, generally known as the “Ring of Fire”.