NW Rota-1: Billowing Plume Full of Sulfur and Ash

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In April 2009 an international science team used ROV Jason to capture dramatic video and still images of the eruptive volcano near the Island of Guam. The science team, led by Bill Chadwick of Oregon State University, reports that the volcano has grown considerably in size during the past three years, it appears to be continuously active, and its activity supports a unique biological community that also has grown in size during the same time period. NW Rota-1 is one of the only places on Earth where a deep submarine volcano has ever been directly observed while erupting. (Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)