Why can’t seawater extinguish submarine volcanoes?

In 1963, a volcano 130 meters below the sea surface south of Iceland suddenly erupted, and the volcanic ash and water vapor columns that rushed out of the water were hundreds of meters high. On November 14, 1963, the volcano broke out of the sea. The eruption continued until June 5, 1967, and the area of ​​the island reached its maximum of 2.7 square kilometers. This is the famous Surtsey Island.

Undersea volcanoes spew magma, forming underwater hills and stone pillars. The volcano rises and emerges from the sea after thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, solidifying into an island. Eruption, cooling, solidification, accumulation, and repeated cycles form volcanic islands.

According to common physics knowledge, when fire meets water, the fire will be reduced or even extinguished. No matter how big the volcano on Surtsey Island is, can it be bigger than the Atlantic Ocean? More than 70% of the earth's surface is covered by oceans, but why can't seawater extinguish submarine volcanoes? How did this phenomenon of water and fire coexisting come about?

The so-called submarine volcano refers to the volcano distributed in the sea. Like land volcanoes, there are also dead volcanoes and active volcanoes. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 20,000 submarine volcanoes in the world, more than half of which are located in the Pacific Ocean. Most of these volcanoes are located at the junction of plates. Some have died, some are dormant, and some are still young and active.

Undersea volcanic eruptions also vary in specific circumstances. If the sea water is shallow and the water pressure is low, water vapor and lava will often erupt out of the water, accompanied by violent explosions. This is a phenomenon caused by the violent reaction of hot magma with cold sea water, which is different from land volcanic eruptions.

On the contrary, if the water is too deep, we cannot see any obvious changes above the water surface. So in this case, did the sea water extinguish the volcano? Of course not. Otherwise, with such a vast amount of water in the Pacific Ocean, the term "volcanic island" would probably not have come into being. So how do the "fire" of the volcano and the "water" of the sea water interact?

The fire we see on a daily basis is the violent reaction between the burning material and the oxygen in the air, while the fire erupted by the volcano is a high-temperature fluid substance, that is, magma. The fire erupted by the submarine volcano is not an open fire on land. A large amount of magma is stored under the crust due to high temperature and high pressure. When the plates move frequently and gaps appear on the surface, the magma will gush out. The principle of extinguishing fire with water is to separate the burning material from the air, but the eruption of magma is caused by high pressure and does not require air. Seawater can only cool it down but cannot extinguish it.

Generally speaking, volcanic belts are easily formed at the junction of the earth's major plates, such as the Pacific Ring of Fire. However, there are exceptions, such as the Hawaiian volcano, which is located in the center of the Pacific Plate and is formed by the direct eruption of magma from the earth's interior, just like acne on humans.

Many island countries in the world are located on volcanic belts, such as Japan, New Zealand, Iceland, etc.

Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate, and the Philippine Plate meet, and earthquakes and volcanic activities are frequent. Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, is about 3,776 meters above sea level and is an active volcano. One-tenth of the world's volcanoes are located in Japan, and one-fifth of the world's earthquakes occur in Japan.

New Zealand is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, especially in the North Island, where there are many volcanoes and hot springs. The highest point is Mount Ruapehu, which is 2,797 meters above sea level and is located about 40 kilometers southwest of Lake Taupo. The largest lake in New Zealand is located in the North Island, named Lake Taupo. It is actually the Taupo crater, which was formed after an eruption about 26,500 years ago. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Taupo volcano erupted, and the sky in my country turned red. Zhang Jue wrote the words "The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky should be established", and the Yellow Turban Rebellion kicked off the prelude to the Three Kingdoms.

Iceland is located in a volcanic zone, with 200-300 volcanoes and 40-50 active volcanoes on the island. Iceland has spectacular scenery, with the highest peak, Hvannadalshnukurk, at 2,119 meters above sea level. Lava turns the ground water into water vapor, which rises along the cracks to form geysers. Go to Iceland to soak in hot springs, and then take a tour along the 1,339-kilometer ring road around the island. Along the way, you will see glaciers, volcanoes, canyons, and forests.

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