Two Undersea

Volcanoes

Strange Phenomena in the Solomons

Honiara, July 1

rjOME further Information about 5 the submarine volcano has be come available since the report pf June 20 (see page 40 of this ssue.) The official geologist, Mr. J. C. trover, now is of the opinion that ;here are two undersea volcanoes ictive to the southwards of the tfew Georgia group, and not one, is previously reported.

When an explosion from under he sea, on April 16, narrowly missed he mv Loma, the master, Captain dichael Georgetti, checked his po rtion by rough bearings on moun ain features, and made the location ipproximately 157 deg. 55 min. E, ind 9 deg, 15 min. S.

On June 21, Captain MacDonald, »f the Government vessel Kurimaru, ighted submarine volcanic activity ind, from a position close to the r olcano, he made the location 157 [eg. 49 min. E, 8 deg. 55 min. S. This tosition is 20 Minutes of Latitude lorth and 6 Minutes of Longitude yest of the position given by Cap ain Georgetti.

But Captain MacDonald also re torted that just after making his •bservation, from his position close o the volcano, he saw an expanding ed glow in the evening sky to the outhwards, which lasted about 10 econds. It is believed that the ex planation is that there are two olcanoes active under the sea, and .he glow to the southwards re torted by MacDonald is the vol ano reported by Georgetti.

Captain Georgetti described bright ed flames rising direct from the sea mmediately ahead and astern of lis ship. His ship was passing hrough a hot, sulphurous atmos ihere, over an area of bubbling sea bout a quarter-mile in diameter, luch a phenomenon would give a low as reported by Captain Mac )onald, and at about that position.

Ir. Glover has made the following dditional comments: Natives report that recent eruptions ave not caused small seismic seawaves uch as were observed at the end of 951. This may indicate that the activity 5 not closer to the surface.

On March 14, 1950, world seismological tations recorded an earthquake with picentre corresponding to the northern lost of these two undersea volcanoes, xamination of port records show umerous earthquake epicentres in this icinity on an east-west line stretching Jr about 80 miles.

The southernmost of the two chains of .lands which constitute the Solomons es along the Pacific “ring of fire”, which xtends through the Bismarck Archi

pelago and the East Indies to Japan.

In the Solomons-Bismarck Islands the • seismic activity is greater than elsewhere in the world, and probably has been ex ceeded only in the Japanese area, according to world authorities, Gutenberg and Richter. Earthquakes of the utmost severity occur, but many each year are not pinpointed because there are no seismographs in the Solomons.

Activity has been reported in the past by local natives, but these underwater phenomena have until recently been observed by few Europeans, although they occur on the main western islands ship ping route.

The Solomons lie in a “mobile geosynclinal zone” which has undergone elevation since the Tertiary Period. The violent volcanic activity of those times

has died down, but has continued on a diminished scale up to the present day.

The region is still virtually unknown geologically, and the first geological sur vey of the British Solomon Islands is now under way, financed by the British Government. Although the survey is essentially concerned with areas showing mineral deposits of potential economic value, it will add considerably to general geological knowledge of the Solomons.

Mr. and Mrs. J. S. K. B. Borron,

of Mago Island, Fiji, returned to

the Colony in early July after a six months visit to the United States and United Kingdom where Mr.

Borron has been receiving medical treatment.