Could Dangerous Underwater Volcano in Caribbean Cause a US Tsunami?
Could Dangerous Underwater Volcano in Caribbean Cause a US Tsunami?
May 14, 2014
By GIO BENITEZ, MICHAEL CAPPETTA and LAUREN EFFRON
A team of scientists is exploring the darkest corners of a huge underwater volcano in the Caribbean in hopes of better understanding the mysteries of earthquakes and tsunamis, ultimately saving lives.
Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET
The Kick'em Jenny is a dangerous and active volcano sitting roughly 6,000 feet below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, and located off the coast of the island of Grenada, south of St. Lucia.
Robert Ballad, famous for discovering the Titanic 12,000 feet below the surface of the icy North Atlantic in 1985, set his sights on exploring the Kick'em Jenny to study its eruption history and learn more about how underwater volcanoes can pose a threat.
Ballad, the president of the Institute for Exploration and the director of the Center for Ocean Exploration at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, said the Kick'em Jenny volcano has a history of explosive eruptions, which could have the potential to trigger tsunamis, the effects from which could be felt as far away as the northeastern United States.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Kick'em Jenny volcano has erupted 10 times since 1939 with the most recent eruption in 1990.
More:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/deadly-underwater-volcano-caribbean-us-tsunami/story?id=23717506
