This Is The Newest Island In The World

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

It is called Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai and it is the youngest island in the world: it is only 2 years old since it emerged from a volcano in the South Pacific in 2015. It is now part of the Kingdom of Tonga, in Oceania, and part of the last monarchy of Polynesia.

According to the BBC, among the 170 islands that make up this country that is the size of Japan, the so-called HTHH emerged, which have become a mystery to geologists since two years ago it appeared rising some 400 feet above the sea, directly between Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai islands.

Upon seeing its surprising appearance, the researchers immediately sent satellites to photograph it, since they thought that it would have the same short life as other similar islands: disappear before the inclement and constant scourge of the winds, waves and air currents in the area, causing it to sink back into the sea. But HTHH did not disappear. Two years later, even though some of its edges have sunk, the island is still there. And it has even grown a new border that connects it to one of its neighboring islands.

Scientists are watching these changes very closely as they believe that their territory may be a kind of template to help them better understand the aquatic environment on Mars and, by extension, if the conditions are in place, they could also help them study life in that planet.

"The idea was that we could use recognition of such landforms as an indication of the history, depth, and longevity of the paleofields on the red planet," said Dr. Jim Garvin, chief scientist at the United States Space Agency United (NASA) Goddard. Space Flight Center. "So, we're going to use HTHH on Earth to train us to understand Mars."

Dr. Garvin and his made that revelation at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world's largest annual gathering of Earth and planetary scientists.

Although at the moment no one lives on this “baby” island, the Kingdom of Tonga promotes tourism in some of its neighboring islands, which are also known as the Friendship Islands.