The Wine Dark Sea and Undersea Volcanoes –
This week in Tonga

March 21, 2009 · Filed Under Current, Lore of the Sea 

In the opening sections of Patrick O’Brian’s novel The Wine Dark Sea, the officers and crew of the Surprise first believe that they are under mortar attack only to learn that they are being hit by debris from an eruption of an undersea volcano.  Fans of O’Brian must have been reminded of this scene when an undersea volcano erupted this week off the coast of Tonga, tossing clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean.   Unlike in the Wine Dark Sea, no ships were apparently close by and there were no reported injuries resulting from the eruption.

From the Daily Mail:  ”The spectacular columns blasted out of the South Pacific yesterday six miles off the coast of Tonga’s main island Tongatapu. The eruption can be seen clearly from the capital, Nuku’alofa, although residents only reported seeing smoke rising from the sea on Wednesday, two days after it is believed to have begun.”

“Those living nearby said the columns of steam and ash first appeared on Monday morning, after a series of sharp earthquakes were felt in the capital, Nuku’alofa.

“This is not unusual for this area and we expect this to happen here at any time,’ Mr Mafi said, adding that a similar eruption took place there in 2002.

Scientists believe the underwater eruption was taking place to the west of the low-lying twin volcanic islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai, within sight of Nuku’alofa.  Large amounts of pumice thrown up by the erupting volcano would be likely to clog beaches on the southern coast of nearby Fiji islands within a short time, he said.” 

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Video of the Moment

HMS Surprise and Star of India

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