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Pumice Puzzle

August 31, 2015

On July 31, 2012, a passenger on a commercial airliner spotted what appeared to a large raft of pumice in the Pacific Ocean. Satellite imagery revealed the likely source—the Havre Volcano, an underwater caldera north of New Zealand. In March 2015, an international team of researchers embarked on a month-long expedition to investigate the largest recorded explosive submarine eruption in history using the remotely operated vehicle Jason and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry. Pictured at front are co-principal investigators Rebecca Carey (University of Tasmania) and WHOI geologist Adam Soule with a giant pumice sample. Jason pilot Korey Verhein (rear) recovered the sample.(Photo courtesy of Adam Soule, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)