NASA released an image taken on May 14 of an undersea volcano erupting.
And you guessed it, it's pretty dang cool!
The Kavachi volcano in the Solomon Island was dubbed "Sharkano" after a 2015 expedition where researchers dropped a camera into its crater.
The Sharkano is one of the island's most active submarine volcanoes in the Pacific and is hanging out underwater, waiting to explode, just 15 miles away from the island Vangunu.
The image shows a cloud of discolored water rising to the surface.
An underwater volcano erupting sounds scary and uncertain - especially with a name like Sharkano - but my gosh, it sure is pretty (from up here)!
From NASA's Earth Observatory:
Previous research has shown such plumes of superheated, acidic water usually contain particulate matter, volcanic rock fragments, and sulfur. A 2015 scientific expedition to the volcano found two species of sharks, including hammerheads, living in the submerged crater. The researchers also found microbial communities that thrive on sulfur. The presence of the sharks in the crater raised "new questions about the ecology of active submarine volcanoes and the extreme environments in which large marine animals can exist," the researchers wrote in a 2016 Oceanography article, "Exploring the ‘Sharkcano'."
Prior to this recent activity, large eruptions were observed at Kavachi in 2014 and 2007. The volcano erupts nearly continuously, and residents of nearby inhabitated islands often report visible steam and ash. The island is named for a sea god of the Gatokae and Vangunu peoples, and it is sometimes also referred to as Rejo te Kvachi, or "Kavachi's Oven".
Oh... so, Sharkano wasn't just a cool name... it's because there are literal sharks living in the submerged crater.
That's um... not terrifying at all.
Continuously erupting and surrounded by sharks.
The Oceanography Society published the 2015 expedition in October 2016 and here is my play-by-play:
[Drop-cam descends over Skarkano's crater.]
Oh! Pretty blue water. Looks so fresh!
[Bubbles, bubbles.]
I could really go for a swim right now.
Oh, it's getting a darker down here...
Why is everything yellow and green?
Wait, we're here. We're at the seafloor (50m depth) but I can't see nothin'!
[Camera shakes a bit, more bubbles.]
WHAT IS THAT?
SHARK!
Wait, no. It's just some kind of sea rock.
Oh, hello fishies!
More cute fishies.
OH SNAP. That was definitely a shark.
SILK SHARK! VOLCANIC HAMMERHEAD WITH EYES OF DEATH!
GET ME OUT OF HERE!
[Video feed suddenly goes black]
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