A new submarine eruption started on September 28, 2013 NW of the island Jebel Zubair in the Red Sea. The ongoing eruption is SW of the 2011-12 eruption which created a new volcanic island there.
Satellite image from January 7, 2012, suggested that the eruption has risen nearly completely above water. A plume of steam, other volcanic gases, and ash spewed from a distinct cone. The land surrounding the vent has grown, and was about 530 by 710 meters (1 700 by 2 300 feet) across. Once above water, past eruptions in the Zubair Islands were primarily effusive, with relatively runny lava forming thin lava flows. In contrast to the fragmented rock that forms when lava interacts directly with water, lava that solidifies on land is tough, so this new island is likely to stick around.
The 5-km-long Jebel Zubair Island is the largest of a group of 10 small islands and submerged shoals that rise from a shallow platform in the Red Sea rift.
This latest phase of activity occurred on the morphologically youngest islands of Zubair, Centre Peak, Saba, and Haycock. Historical explosive activity was reported from Saddle Island in the 19th century. Spatter cones and pyroclastic cones were erupted along fissures that form the low spine of Zubair Island.
