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Bouvet Volcano | John Seach
Bouvet Island
Territory of Norway, South Atlantic Ocean
54.42 S, 3.35 E
summit elevation 780 m
Shield volcano
Bouvet Island is located in the sub Antarctic. It lies 2600 km from South Africa, and 1700 km from Antarctica. Bouvet is the southernmost island in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Bouvet is the most remote island in the world. The nearest land is Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, 1600 km south. The nearest inhabited land is Tristan da Cunha, 2,260 km NNW.
The island is rectangular in outline 9.5 km x 7 km. Most of the island is ice covered, but there are some exposed rocks up to 335 m altitude.
Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739, and for almost two centuries its position was not accurately known. It covers 58 sq km and is 93% covered by glaciers. The island has a 3.5 km wide caldera, breached on NW side.
Lava from Bouvet volcano has more in common with Ascension Island than with any other island on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Mystery of Thompson Island
In 1825 and 1893, there were reports of an island NE of Bouvet. The island was recorded as being 2 x 1 km in diameter. Thompson Island possibly disappeared between 1893 and 1898. This was most likely due to volcanic activity. Due to its remote location, it is possible that a large eruption could have gone unnoticed at Thompson Island in the nineteenth century.
Further Reading
Dickey Jr, J.S., Frey, F.A., Hart, S.R., Watson, E.B. and Thompson, G., 1977. Geochemistry and petrology of dredged basalts from the Bouvet triple junction, South Atlantic. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 41(8), pp.1105-1118.
Verwoerd, W.J., Erlank, A.J. and Kable, E.J.D., 1976. Geology and geochemistry of Bouvet Island. In Proceedings of the Symposium on “Andean and Antarctic Volcanology Problems”, Santiago, Chile (pp. 201-237).
Bouvet Volcano Eruptions
50 BC?