The islands of Central Tonga welcomed the ‘birth’ of a new island.
The new island appeared in the southwest Pacific Ocean, where underwater volcanoes abound.
One of these submerged volcanoes ‘awakened’ on September 10, spewing lava, steam and ash, according to a statement from NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Just 11 hours after the volcano began erupting, a new island had appeared above the surface of the water, says NASA, which captured satellite images of the newborn island.
The newborn island quickly grew in size, according to NASA. On September 14, researchers at the Geological Survey of Tonga estimated that the island covered only 4,000 square meters.
But by September 20, the island had grown to cover 24,000 square meters.
However, NASA says that islands created by underwater volcanoes “are often short-lived but sometimes ephemeral islands can persist for years or even decades.