A small island at Tonga’s Home Reef got a little roomier in recent weeks.
A small island at Tonga’s Home Reef got a little roomier in recent weeks.
The underwater volcano emerged above sea level during a 2022 eruption, adding new land to the nation of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It continued to grow during eruptions in September 2023, January 2024, and June 2024, expanding to 12.2 hectares (30.1 acres). During the most recent period of activity, from December 2024 to January 2025, the island grew another 3.7 hectares.
Landsat satellites observed the island’s recent growth spurt. The OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9 captured an image of the island on November 11, 2024 (left), before the latest expansion. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 imaged the same location on February 2, 2025 (right). The new land formed as lava flowed from the volcano’s vent and solidified into rock.
Read more at NASA Earth Observatory
Image: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
