India’s Only Active Volcano Erupts Again From Dead

New Delhi (Sputnik) – India’s only active volcano situated at Andaman Island in Indian Ocean has once again spewing lava and ash after the gap of 150 years. Indian scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) claimed that Barren volcano suddenly started spewing ash in January this year.“On the afternoon of 23 January 2017, the scientific team on board CSIR-NIO’s research ship RV Sindhu Sankalp was busy collecting sea floor samples in the Andaman Basin near the Barren volcano when it suddenly started spewing ash. The team moved about one mile from the volcano and began closely observing it. The volcano was erupting in small episodes lasting about five to ten minutes,” according to a statement issued by the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography.

The volcano was revisited in the early hours of 26th January, 2017 again during the second leg of the cruise led by Dr. B.Nagender Nath. The team has witnessed the continuation of spurts of blasts and smoke. Scientists from CSIR-NIO have been surveying the Andaman Basin and they have identified many small submerged volcanoes in a linear chain called a volcanic arc.

The Andaman Basin is an active back-arc spreading basin and is known for its strong seismicity and many submarine volcanoes and hydrothermal activity. The volcanic island is uninhabited and the northern part of the island is, as the name suggests, barren and devoid of vegetation. Private Citizens of India can visit the volcanic island by chartered boats after obtaining permission of the Forest Department in Port Blair.

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