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Protector Shoal

Protector Seamounts

Volcanic field · United Kingdom · 55m (submarine)

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Type
Volcanic field
Country
United Kingdom
Region
Antarctic-Scotia Volcanic Regions / South Sandwich Volcanic Arc
Elevation
55m (submarine)
Coordinates
-55.912, -28.167
Last eruption
1962
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Cluster
Major rock type
Rhyolite
Geological summary

The Protector Seamounts, located 30 km NW of Zavodovski Island, form the northernmost volcanic region of the South Sandwich volcanic arc. Bathymetry described by Leat et al. (2013) showed that Nimrod Bank forms the central point in the seamount chain. Protector Shoal, on the S end of the bank, is a broad, gently sloping cone that rises to within 55 m of the ocean surface. Large amounts of rhyolitic pumice, first detected by the Royal Navy Ice Patrol Vessel H.M.S. Protector, were ejected during its only recorded eruption in 1962 and formed an extensive pumice raft which drifted as far as New Zealand.

From Wikipedia

Protector Shoal is the shallowest point of the Protector Seamounts, a group of submarine volcanoes in the Southern Ocean. They are part of the South Sandwich island arc, a volcanic arc that has given rise to the South Sandwich Islands. Protector Shoal reaches a depth of 55 metres (180 ft) below sea level and is part of a larger group of seamounts that formed atop a larger ridge. Some of these seamounts bear traces of sector collapses, and one is capped by nested calderas.

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Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1962~1962 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 119621962196319631963

Detailed timeline

  1. 1962VEI 1Observed
    1962-03-05 – 1962-03-05

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.