Verum, Felix, Scorch, and Orak were looking at a vibrant display of science projects. They had sneaked into a school in the human world to learn more about young humans’ ideas for an upcoming science fair. Scorch called out to everyone, “Get over here! There’s a baking soda volcano!”
Verum smiled, “A classic science fair project.”
“Haha, that’s right,” Felix couldn’t resist, “Did you guys know that volcanoes can explode underwater too?”
“That would be a breathtaking sight, but also scary. Has that happened somewhere recently,” Scorch asked.
“In January, a massive underwater volcano exploded in the southern Pacific Ocean, a little away from the main island of Tonga, a country. The volcano’s name is Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai,” Felix answered.
“That’s not news. Volcanoes do erupt under wa…,” Orak started to speak, but Felix interrupted, “That’s correct. The news is that in a recent survey, scientists and marine geologists found that at least 9.5 cubic kilometers of material that were thrown out at the time of the eruption have been displaced.
That is like displacing 4,000 Egyptian pyramids!”
Orak’s heart skipped a beat, “What else did the survey find?”
“It shows the seafloor has been reshaped by the violent debris that flew out to a great distance. The rock, ash, and water that were thrown out went up to a great height – almost reaching space. It is the highest recorded eruption in human history,” Felix said.
“I just hope such powerful natural events don’t harm human life a lot,” Scorch said.
“Fortunately, this volcano did not cause significant harm to human life. But it did hurt the sea bed around it, which was bad for underwater life,” Felix sighed.