An Icelandic fishing vessel investigates a column of smoke almost 30 miles off of Iceland’s southern coast, with the crew believing it to be another boat in distress. What the crew finds, however, is a new volcanic island poking out of the sea – a submarine eruption that has now broken the surface of the Atlantic. A column of airborne ash and gas rises miles into the air, and within a weak vigorous eruptions create a new island over 1500 feet long, rising 147 feet above sea level. The eruption continues violently, adding more land area to the island but keeping scientists (and sightseers) at bay. The island is named Surtsey after a figure in Norse mythology.
