Undersea Volcano Explodes in Rare Footage from Pacific Ocean (Video)

Devon Massyn, a wildlife filmmaker, was on the dive to the Solomon Islands in search of capturing sharks. However, when Kavachi went kaboom, he turned his lens to the submarine volcano. Here’s what he had to say about what he witnessed:

“We made an expedition to an extremely remote region of the Solomon Islands to film sharks around one of the most active submarine volcanoes on Earth—Kavachi.

“Because of its isolation, no one had been there in over two years, so we had no idea what we would find or if the volcano was even active at the surface.

“You are quickly reminded of the intense power of the Earth here. Even while scuba diving more than 50 miles away, we could hear its ominous underwater explosions.

“Concussive blasts traveling through the ocean and vibrating through your entire body, sending sharks into erratic behavior.”

As Massyn mentioned, Kavachi isn’t a frequently-visited site. And it’s not just due to the danger of the massive underwater explosions. It’s also because it’s just so remote. During his visit, Massyn explained that he and his crew had to carry extra drums of oil with them on the boat just to get there, adding, “once we committed, there was no easy way out.”

For more information on the marine volcano, here’s NASA:

“Kavachi is one of the most active submarine volcanoes in the Pacific. This conical seamount, located in the Solomon Islands and named after a sea god of the Gatokae and Vangunu people, rises some 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) from the seafloor. But its summit remains just 20 meters (65 feet) below sea level, which makes it easier for satellites to detect discolorations of the water due to volcanic activity than at deeper undersea volcanoes.”