THE MONOWAI CONE volcano, 1000km north of New Zealand, underwent an unprecedented period of growth and collapse in mid-2011, providing new insight into the behaviour of submarine volcanoes. Over a period of just five days, the volcano spewed out about 8.5 million cubic metres of lava and debris. One portion of the summit grew by a whopping 79m - equivalent to a 26-storey building - while another collapsed by 19m. The changes were measured by scientists aboard the German research vessel Sonne, with the study of the Monowai Cone aided by Dr Cornel de Ronde from GNS Science in New Zealand. The findings of the three-week survey were published last week in the journal Nature Geoscience.
image Credit: GNS Science/NOAA/PMEL
