New island emerges after undersea volcano erupts off Japan, but experts say it may not last long
TOKYO (AP): An undersea volcano erupted off Japan three weeks ago, providing a rare view of the birth of a tiny new island, but experts say it may not last very long.
The unnamed undersea volcano, located about 1 kilometer (half a mile) off the southern coast of Iwo Jima, which Japan calls Ioto, started its latest series of eruptions on Oct. 21.
Within 10 days, volcanic ash and rocks piled up on the shallow seabed, its tip rising above the sea surface. By early November, it became a new island about 100 meters (328 feet) in diameter and as high as 20 meters (66 feet) above the sea, according to Yuji Usui, an analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency's volcanic division.
Volcanic activity has increased near Iwo Jima and similar undersea eruptions have occurred in recent years, but the formation of a new island is a significant development, Usui said.
Volcanic activity at the site has since subsided, and the newly formed island has somewhat shrunk because its “crumbly” formation is easily washed away by waves, Usui said.
He said experts are still analyzing the development, including details of the deposits. The new island could survive longer if it is made of lava or something more durable than volcanic rocks such as pumice.
“We just have to see the development,” he said. “But the island may not last very long.”
Undersea volcanos and seismic activities have formed new islands in the past.
In 2013, an eruption at Nishinoshima in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo led to the formation of a new island, which kept growing during a decade-long eruption of the volcano.
Also in 2013, a small island surfaced from the seabed after a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan. In 2015, a new island was formed as a result of a month-long eruption of a submarine volcano off the coast of Tonga.
Of about 1,500 active volcanos in the world, 111 are in Japan, which sits on the so-called Pacific “ring of fire,” according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Iwo Jima was the site of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, and the photograph taken by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal of the flag-raising atop the island's Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945, came to symbolize the Pacific War and the valor of the United States Marines.
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'Will do whatever the party asks me to': Shivakumar on Odisha Cong MLAs camping in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said though he had not brought the Congress MLAs from Odisha to Bengaluru ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in that state, he will follow the party's directives.
His remarks come after a group of Odisha Congress legislators were moved to Bengaluru amid apprehensions of cross-voting in the March 16 biennial election.
According to party insiders, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president D K Shivakumar oversaw the logistical arrangements for their stay in the city.
The legislators are currently staying at the resort facility of an amusement park, located about 35 kms from Bengaluru.
Congress sources said the MLAs are expected to remain there until Monday morning before returning to Bhubaneswar to participate in the voting for the Rajya Sabha election.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said he did not bring them, though he will do whatever the party leadership asks him to.
“Look, whatever the party asks us to do, we must do. These things are happening in every state across the country; it’s nothing new. Since they (Odisha MLAs) have come, I will meet them. They asked me for time, but I told them not to come here (Vidhana Soudha) because the Assembly session is going on. I said I would come after finishing the Assembly work,” the Deputy CM said.
According to party sources, around eight MLAs from the party’s Odisha unit were flown from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru late on Thursday night and have been accommodated at a resort on the outskirts of the city.
Six more legislators from Odisha along with their Congress Odisha unit president will be reaching Bengaluru in the night.
The move, party insiders said, is aimed at ensuring unity among the legislators in the run-up to the election.
Sources added that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure after the BJP fielded a second candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, triggering intense political manoeuvring in the state.
“There were concerns about possible cross-voting and attempts to influence MLAs. As a safeguard, the leadership decided to move them out of the state until the voting,” a Congress functionary said.
“Six more MLAs and their party president are expected to arrive in Bengaluru by Friday night.”
The Congress currently has 14 MLAs in the Odisha Assembly and requires additional support to ensure the success of its Rajya Sabha nominee.
Sources said the party leadership feared possible political bargaining and inducements involving legislators from different parties ahead of the poll.
