Researchers Discover Sharks Living In Live Underwater Volcano


Several years back a group of scientists decided it would be a great idea to shoot camera-equipped robots into an underwater volcano. As crazy as that sounds, we’re really glad that they did. The team was able to make an unbelievable discovery and capture some truly spectacular video footage.

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Treacherous Conditions

The group traveled to perhaps the liveliest group of volcanoes that can be found in the ocean. The area is called Kavachi, and is located in the southern-western section of the Pacific Ocean. It can be found just south of Vangunu Island near the Solomon Islands.
To humans, the ocean already seems like a very inhospitable environment. Add to that active volcanoes, and you would think absolutely nothing could live in the area. As it turns out, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

A Shark Volcano

After dropping a 90-pound camera deep into the volcanic area, researchers were completely startled by what they found. Sharks were living deep within the plumes of the raging volcano. This is the first ever found shark volcano.

Divers in the area have actually tried to get close to the volcano, but were unable to traverse very far due to issues with the water. The idling volcanic structures have had various effects on the water in the area which caused them issues. The obvious one is the increased heat radiating into surrounding waters. A less obvious effect is the acidification of the water. The altered PH was literally causing the divers skin to burn.

These same issues should theoretically be affecting the sharks too, causing the area to be completely inhospitable for most forms of biological life.

The scientists are uncertain as to whether the sharks in the area have specifically adapted to withstand the treacherous conditions. It could be that all sharks of the specific varieties found within the volcano are able to survive.