Japanese scientists found an underwater volcano, which is 3 million years old

Eruptions of alkaline magma can form small volcanoes on oceanic plates. The first such

volcanoes were discovered near Japan in 2006trench - an oceanic depression in the western Pacific Ocean, east of the island of Honshu. Now researchers have discovered a new volcano that appeared about 3 million years ago. It is located next to the island of Minamitori in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

“These are small volcanoes that arise alongcracks at the base of tectonic plates, ”said Naoto Hirano of the Center for North-East Asian Studies. “As tectonic plates sink into the Earth’s upper mantle, cracks appear in which the plate begins to bend, causing these volcanoes to erupt.”

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Magma in this case erupts directlyfrom the asthenosphere - the upper part of the mantle, which controls the movement of tectonic plates. Researchers noted that studying fine-grained volcanoes can provide more information about the asthenosphere, giving scientists a deeper understanding of plate tectonics, the types of rocks that exist there, and the melting process under tectonic plates.

“The discovery of a new volcano provides usa great opportunity to further explore this area. However, to gain more extensive knowledge, we hope to discover several more similar volcanoes in 2020, ”the researchers noted.