Get to Know Indonesia Underwater Volcanoes, are They Dangerous?

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesia is rich in volcanoes. Those volcanoes are not only above ground but also underwater.

How are they formed? Of course, it is part of the "ring of fire" and continental plates collision.

Underwater volcanoes are categorized by shape and height. It must have a minimum height of 1000 meters from the seabed based on Document B-6 Standardization of Underwater Feature Names from the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).

Active underwater volcanoes also emit lava as well as volcanoes in general. Are they dangerous? So far there has been no news of casualties or damage from the underwater eruption. The reason is, the lava containing mineral lava solution immediately experienced sudden cooling when it came out of the crater. That is why some marine biotas live and forage comfortably in the underwater crater.

Some researchers found several types of shrimp, small lobsters, starfish, squid, sea cucumbers, spoon worms, sea spiders, and coral reefs. In 2020, Indonesia's Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) discovered 8 underwater volcanoes. The agency named it after hundreds of volcanoes in Indonesian waters. They registered them in the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia.

Well, the newly invented eight underwater volcanoes have existed in three areas as below:

West Sumatra Waters
The underwater volcano Mount Pagai is located in the waters of West Sumatra, precisely on Pagai Island. Mount Pagai is close to Bengkulu Province but is included in one of the fourth Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra.

By the way, researchers are still confused about whether to categorize it as an active or inactive volcano. Moreover, Mount Pagai is not dangerous.

East Nusa Tenggara Waters
At least, there are three underwater volcanoes in East Nusa Tenggara Province. The researchers named it Mount Baruna Komba, Abang Komba, and Mount Ibu Komba. These underwater volcanoes are also difficult to detect whether it is active or inactive.

North Sulawesi Waters
North Sulawesi presents Mount Naung, Mount Maselihe, Mount Roa, and Mount Kawio Barat. Mount Maselihe is located 105 km west of Naha airport and belongs to the category of a back-arc volcano. Mount Naung has a unique fact where its height is 0 meters from the seabed. Because mountain peaks sometimes appear (reduce) and sink (reduce).

Mount Kawio Barat is one of the highest underwater volcanoes in the world with an altitude of 3,200 meters from the Sangihe seabed. The mountain which is located around Kawio Island, Kawio, Marrone District, Sangihe has a height of 1,900 meters from the peak to the surface. It turns out that a special submarine is needed to explore the mountain.

Indonesia is indeed extraordinary where its natural wealth is not only on the surface but also under the sea. Never doubt the uniqueness of the country because it is real and inviting to be explored. Unfortunately, some of them cannot be explored without technology.