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Deceptiveness Island is a semi-submerged volcanic caldera that supplies sanctuary to sailors checking out the Southern Ocean’s rough seas.
(Image credit: NASA/LAndsat/Lauren Dauphin)
FAST FACTS
Where is it? Deceptiveness Island, South Shetland Islands [-62.953381585, -60.627783743]
What’s in the picture? A semi-submerged, active volcanic caldera partly covered in snow
Which satellite took the picture? Landsat 8
When was it taken? March 23, 2018
This striking satellite picture flaunts the distinct shape of Antarctica’s “Deception Island” — a semi-submerged, active volcanic caldera developed by among the area’s biggest recognized eruptions, which now supplies a sanctuary for ships and scientists checking out the location around the South Pole.
The horseshoe-shaped island, which is approximately 9 miles(14.5 kilometers)large, lies in the Southern Ocean around 65 miles (105 km)from mainland Antarctica. It is among the South Shetland Islands, which being in the middle of the Drake Passage– a stretch of water typically called the “iceberg graveyard,” due to the variety of huge ice pieces that break down as they move through this passageafter breaking off from Antarctic ice sheets.
Deceptiveness Island gets its interesting name since, from water level, it appears like a single strong landmass surrounded on every side by high cliffs. If you approach it and discover the narrow 1,600-foot-wide (500 meters) opening in the caldera’s rim, understood as “Neptune’s Bellows,” you understand that it holds a huge surprise lagoon.
Explorers initially found the secret passage in 1820. Before then, lots of sailors would have most likely gone by not understanding that its interior, called Port Foster, is an outstanding haven for sailors to suffer huge storms that often strike the Southern Ocean.
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When you see the caldera’s high slopes from water level, it is simple to see why previous sailors would have presumed it was a common barren island. (Image credit: Andrew Shiva/Wikimedia)
The uncommon landmass was left after a significant volcanic eruption around 4,000 years earlier, which likely introduced in between 7 and 14 cubic miles (30 and 60 cubic kilometers) of ash and lava into the sky– the equivalent of in between 120 million and 240 million Olympic pool. Professionals think this was the biggest eruption in Antarctica for a minimum of the last 12,000 years, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory
The island is still volcanically active and has actually hosted a minimum of 20 little eruptions given that completion of the 19th century. It has actually not appeared because 1970 and has actually been quiet given that 2015, when the last seismic activity was tape-recorded on the island, according to the Smithsonian Institute’s Worldwide Volcanism ProgramThere is just one other active volcano in Antarctica– Mount Erebus on Ross Island.
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Travelers check out Deception Island on cruise liner to take pleasure in the warm volcanic mud baths dotted along its black sand beaches. (Image credit: Lyubomir Ivanov/Apcgb/Wikimedia)
Today, Port Foster is home to 2 long-term research study stations run by Argentina and Spain, according to the British Antarctic SurveyA 3rd station, coming from Chile, was likewise found on the island however was damaged throughout the 1970 eruption.
There are likewise in between 50,000 and 100,000 reproducing sets of chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticusthat call the island home, along with numerous types of seals and seabirds, according to the BBC
Deceptiveness Island is likewise checked out by countless travelers every year who journey to the remote island on cruise liner and come ashore to delight in volcanic springs along Port Foster’s beaches.
Harry is a U.K.-based senior personnel author at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to end up being a reporter. He covers a vast array of subjects consisting of area expedition, planetary science, area weather condition, environment modification, animal habits and paleontology. His current deal with the solar optimum won “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the “top scoop” classification at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He likewise composes Live Science’s weekly Earth from area series.
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