7
News,
21 August 2020:
An
enormous pumice “raft” has arrived on Australia’s east coast,
bringing with it new marine life that could help with the recovery of
the Great Barrier Reef.
The
massive floating sheet of volcanic rock was first spotted by
Australian sailors on August 9, 2019, days after an underwater
volcano is believed to have erupted near the Pacific island of Tonga.
Australian
sailors Michael Hoult and Larissa Brill said at the time they
encountered volcanic rocks “made up of pumice stones from marble to
basketball size such that water was not visible”.
The
raft is more than 150 square kilometres in surface area - almost
three times the size of Sydney Harbour or about 8000 football fields.
It
is now crashing into Australia’s east coast between Townsville and
northern New South Wales.
Pumice
is a lightweight, bubbly rock, formed when frothy magma cools
suddenly.
The
rock can float on the surface of the water and it often houses tiny
reef-building animals.
Associate
Professor Scott Bryan, collecting pumice on North Stradbroke Island.
Credit: Anthony Weate/QUT
“Each
piece of pumice is a rafting vehicle,” Queensland University of
Technology geologist Scott Bryan said in a statement.
“This
is about a boost of new recruits, of new corals and other
reef-building organisms, that happens every five years or so.
“It’s
almost like a vitamin shot for the Great Barrier Reef.”.....
