Underwater eruption near Tonga creates new island Featured
7 November 2019. An undersea eruption in a remote part of the South Pacific Ocean in Tongan waters is thought to have created a new island, but another island created during a previous eruption has disappeared.
The eruption at Lateiki, also known as Metis Shoal, was first noticed in mid-October when a Real Tonga airline pilot reported white columns of steam rising to about 5000 metres.
In a tweet on Tuesday 5 November, GeoNet released satellite imagery that showed a new elongated island had formed, although a dome that formed after an eruption in 1995 appears to have disappeared.
The latest picture was taken on November 1, by which time the eruption had stopped.
Lateiki has erupted a number of times previously, and has a reputation for creating temporary volcanic islands.
