A team of scientists became eyewitness to a rare event: eruption of a volcano on a sub-Antarctic island while sailing in close proximity to the isolated region. The eruption took place on Heard Island, which is located only at a distance of 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the coast of Antarctica towards the northern side. The island is technically part of the Australian property and lies in the southwest direction from Australia at an approximate distance of 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

An active volcano called Big Ben dominates this island. Since 1881, volcanic activities have been known to occur at this location, with satellites managing to capture the eruptions that took place in 1990s and 2000s. But, the number of people who have actually witnessed eruptions at such sites is very scarce owing to the location of these volcanoes, which is so isolated that it is hardly ever visited or explored.

A team of scientists was onboard the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) ship, known as Investigator, when the eruption occurred, which was seen by the researchers and the ship’s crew members. The scientists were out on a mission led by the University of Tasmania. The mission involved the investigation to find if the mechanism of phytoplankton blooms and fertilization of the Southern Ocean are affected by the iron produced by submerged volcanoes in the area.

“We saw vapor being emitted from the top of the volcano and we saw lava flows coming down the flank of Big Ben. This was a very exciting observation”, said Professor Mike Coffin from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies of the University of Tasmania. Prof. Coffin, who was also the chief scientist of the mission, stated that this region of the world is visited by very less ships, with the last geological mission occurring on Heard Island in 1987.