Just as with any other areas of land on Earth, erosion is constantly changing the appearance of islands, while rising sea levels mean that flat islands, especially in the South Seas, are in danger of disappearing forever beneath the waves. Volcanic eruptions can also permanently destroy island landscapes, but on very rare occasions volcanism can lead to the formation of entirely new islands.
Are new islands still being formed today?
Although the Earth has gradually become a less dynamic place over the millennia, it is true that new islands can spring up even today. They are created by active volcanoes, like the one that is still forcing fresh masses of rock upwards in the Hawaiian Islands. A new island will eventually rise out of the waters of the Pacific there one day, but not for several thousand years yet.
In 2006, the yachtsman Frederik Fransson spotted plumes of steam in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Tonga. They were rising from an island that was not marked on any map. This particular volcano had surfaced twice before – in 1984 and 2004 – but on both occasions it had been washed away within a few months. Perhaps this time the island – named Home Reef – will manage to stay permanently above the surface.
Most new islands, however, are created by artificial means, such as the three cost of Dubai. Commissioned by the Crown Prince, the project involves shifting several hundred million cubic meters of rock and sand at a cost that runs into billions of dollars. One archipelago – in the form of a palm tree – is nearing completion, while the other two, one of which is in the form of the continents of the Earth, are not due to be completed until 2015.
