Volcano Gives Birth to New Island Near Japan

While volcanos are often seen as agents of destruction, in this instance molten lava has acted as a force of creation.

In 2013, members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force detected a new islet off the Nishinoshima volcanic island in the country’s Ogasawara municipality.

Over time, this tiny islet that was originally created by an underwater eruption grew and eventually merged with the volcano itself into a much larger island.

This handout picture taken by Japan Coast Guard on April 27, 2015 shows the newly created Nishinoshima island at the Ogasawara island chain, 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo

© AFP 2023 / JAPAN COAST GUARD

Japanese researchers who were monitoring this process have documented their findings in the Geology scientific journal.