Underwater Volcanoes by Dom Reseigh-Lincoln 

Volcanoes, be they continental (land-based) or submarine (underwater), are one of our planet's most fascinating natural wonders. Bursting from beneath the Earth's crust, they are a constant reminder of the tumultuous and superheated environment raging beneath our feet. Yet, for all those images of volcanoes roaring into life on land, exploding with white-hot magma and plumes of ash, these violent acts only account for a small percentage of our volcano population. The biggest and most numerous candidates are instead beneath our seas, lurking in shallow waters and deep ocean depths. 

These underwater vents and fissures account for a staggering 75% of our planet's annual magma output, with most of these volcanic wonders buried under an average of 2,600 miles of water. Around 5,000 known submarine volcanoes are currently in an active state, and these structures 

(which can range from l0m high to a staggering 3,500m from the seabed) ploy a vital if temperamental role in the fragile ecosystems of marine life. While many can provide the correct chemical conditions to support life, they can also wreck a previously established ecosystem causing population of fish and plankton to plummet as a result. They can also produce new lands, creating volcanic islands that quite literally rise from the depths The islands of Hawaii, for instance, are the product of the submarine volcano eruption beneath the waves. 

All volcanoes are formed by the shifting of tectonic plates into the lithosphere (the outmost layer of the Earth's composition). These plates depend as continental or oceanic; depending on their location can be affected by a variety of elements, including the rotation of the planet, gravitational

Underwater Volcanoes by Dom Reseigh-Lincoln

Volcanoes, be they continental (land-based) or submarine (underwater), are one of our planet's most fascinating natural wonders. Bursting from beneath the Earth's crust, they are a constant reminder of the tumultuous and superheated environment raging beneath our feet. Yet, for all those images of volcanoes roaring into life on land, exploding with white-hot magma and plumes of ash, these violent acts only account for a small percentage of our volcano population. The biggest and most numerous candidates are instead beneath our seas, lurking in shallow waters and deep ocean depths.

These underwater vents and fissures account for a staggering 75% of our planet's annual magma output, with most of these volcanic wonders buried under an average of 2,600 miles of water. Around 5,000 known submarine volcanoes are currently in an active state, and these structures

(which can range from l0m high to a staggering 3,500m from the seabed) ploy a vital if temperamental role in the fragile ecosystems of marine life. While many can provide the correct chemical conditions to support life, they can also wreck a previously established ecosystem causing population of fish and plankton to plummet as a result. They can also produce new lands, creating volcanic islands that quite literally rise from the depths The islands of Hawaii, for instance, are the product of the submarine volcano eruption beneath the waves.

All volcanoes are formed by the shifting of tectonic plates into the lithosphere (the outmost layer of the Earth's composition). These plates depend as continental or oceanic; depending on their location can be affected by a variety of elements, including the rotation of the planet, gravitational