INTERNATIONAL NEWS - The island of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai rose from the seabed about 65 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa in late 2014-early 2015.
Scientists initially expected the island — created when vast quantities of rock and dense ash spewed from the Earth’s crust — to wash away within a few months.
But NASA said it had proved more resilient than expected, possibly because warm sea water combined with ash during the volcanic explosion to create a concrete-like substance known as “tuff”.
While the island — which initially measured one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high — has undergone significant erosion, it is now expected to last anywhere from six to 30 years.
Jim Garvin, the chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said it was a rare chance to study the life cycle of a newly created island.
He said Mars had many similar volcanic islands that appeared to have been surrounded by water when they were created.
