What do pumice rafts and an island in the south pacific have in common?
What is a pumice raft, for that matter.
An article from the Mother Nature Network published in April
2013 talks of an island that didn't really exist. Documented in the late
1800's, it was never again seen since, but the information lingered on maps for
hundreds of years. It eventually made its way into being digitized and put into
Google Maps as 'Sandy
Island'. When scientists
went to find this island, it wasn't there at all.
One of the hypothesis to why it was documented in the first
place mentions something called pumice rafts. You may have heard of pumice in
certain soaps, scrubs, or chunks to use due to their airy and abrasive nature.
What they actually are is a type of volcanic rock, that solidified quickly full
of gas bubbles. Amazingly, they are buoyant enough to float on water. It just
so happens that the area that 'Sandy
Island' was documented
may very well be a pumice raft highway for the stuff created in underwater
volcanoes.
I cant help but be reminded of Jan Mark's RIDING TYCHO,
where the protagonist has an important experience with logs that mysteriously
float along a sea current near her island. But can you imagine, being lost at
sea and coming upon a gigantic hunk of floating rock? What if it was adrift so
long it had its own small ecosystem present upon it, maybe reminiscent to THE
LIFE OF PI?
Nature is really cool.
You can find the original article here: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/computers/stories/why-theres-a-fake-island-on-google-earth
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