Pumice rafts have been washing up from Tasmanian beaches ever since March 2014,, when Dr. Rebecca Carey began receiving emails and phone calls from interested members of society. These porous rocks are also being found along Australia’s coasts, including New Zealand. Pumice is a porous, light volcanic rock that forms when magma crystallizes. It was formed in a huge submarine volcanic eruption which occurred around 2012, about 1000 kilometers miles north of Auckland. Pumice traveled 4000km over the Pacific Ocean before arriving in Tasmania 18 six months later. Dr. Carey on board the Roger Revelle, a US research vessel. Image: Australian Maritime College. Dr. Carey is a volcanologist at the School of Earth Sciences and CODES of the University of Tasmania. She stated last year that she knew the pumice would arrive in Tasmania via satellite imagery and reports from various communities on the Australian east coast. She initiated an extensive community-wide project to track porous rocks along the Tasmanian east coast last year. Pumice rafts, which are giant clusters of pumice (or pumice) can be transported around the Earth for many decades. They slowly acquire marine life such as barnacles and bristleworms. The biology can be transported from one continent to another, much like hitchhikers. Dr. Carey said that marine biology will accumulate over time and become so dense it sinks the pumice. Researchers were able identify high-risk areas and calculate the amount of pumice that has been deposited on the seafloor from newly erupted materials. The 2012 eruption was responsible for more than 10 volcanic centers at a depth of 1 ,400 m below the sea level. Uncommon and powerful eruptions Dr. Carey said: “It’s not easy for magma to erupt explosively from these depths – only the most energetic eruptions can do so, and hence we think that this is likely a one per century event.” Last year, the scientists submitted a proposal to the US National Science foundation for an expedition to the volcano site and were awarded a US$720,000 grant. Dr. Carey is accompanied by an international team of scientists. They will board the ship with two robots, ‘Jason and ‘Sentry, to study the eruptions at Havre Seamount (Havre), in the Kermadec area. The US ship Roger Revelle will be their destination, and Dr. Carey will serve as the Co-Chief Scientist for Mapping Exploration and Samping at Havre. Named after Roger Randall Dougan Revelle , an American scholar and scientist. His research on global warming and Earth’s movement of tectonic plates was the pioneering work of a number of scientists. From New Zealand’s North Island, to Samoa, the Kermadec area stretches. Two robotic robots, The Robots, will assist the researchers. They’ll allow them to complete their research without getting wet. Jason can be controlled remotely and will allow scientists to access the seafloor from the comfort of their ship. The device will take samples of rock and marine life, and transmit video and images. It is equipped with sonars and can guide itself as a submarine. The Sentry can take digital photos. Dr. Carey described the voyage to the seafloor as “a new frontier” and said: “For instance, theories predict that eruptions of magma types should not explode below a 1000 metre. Multiple vents may have been involved in this eruption. Some of these vents can reach as far as 1600 metres, while others are as close to 900 meters. This contradicts the theory. The Havre Seamount lies 640 to 900 meter below sea level (250 meters. It measures 1.2 km in circumference. The summit crater measures 120 metres in diameter. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Water and volcanic eruptions. The scientists want to know more about water’s role in volcanic eruptions. Dr. Carey asked: “When gas and pumice rise from volcanoes’ vents, how does water transport pumice down to the ocean surface?” Oder back to the seafloor to form dense flows pumice?” Dr. Carey holds some pumice rocks that were found washed up at the Tasmanian beach. According to the scientists, this expedition is of educational importance. The researchers say the expedition has significant educational value. Dr. Carey said that the pumice-rafts could have carried many types of biological material across the ocean hundreds of thousands of years ago. Dr. Carey stated that this theory may explain how different continents could have the same terrestrial and marine species. Dr. Simon Grove, the Senior Curator for Invertebrate Zoology, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery said, “This hypothesis could explain why different continents might have the same species of marine and terrestrial animals.” These and the Litiopa wouldn’t be expected to live in Tasmanian conditions. However, it is interesting that they were able to disperse on pumice as far south as possible. NASA Video – Pumice Rafts
