A volcanic rock slide has finally crashed off the coast of Australia after an underwater volcano erupted last year.
The pubic rock was larger than Paris when it drifted in the ocean and it has painted many marine organisms to beaches in Queensland, Australia.
The floating mass of pumice was discovered by sailors as they made their way to Fiji and filmed it taking over the ocean.
It is thought to be the result of a deep-sea underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific.
Pumice is formed by lava that comes in contact with water.
As the lava cools, it forms rock with many gas bubbles inside and therefore floats pumice.
Large assemblages of pumice stone such as these are referred to as pubescent, because the rocks come together to form one large moving mass.
Satellites were able to observe the mass of rocks from space as it drifted toward Australia.
Along the way, it picked up many marine organisms that clung to the rocks and could find a new home in Australian coral reefs.
These organisms include corals, algae and children.
Geologist Scott Bryan of Queensland University of Technology said: ‘Each piece of puberty has its own little community that is transported across the oceans of the world – and we have trillions of pieces of pumice there running around after the eruption.
“Every piece of puberty is a house, and a car for an organism, and it’s just amazing.
“The sheer number of people and this variety of species being transported thousands of miles in just a few months is really quite phenomenal.”
However, Pumice rafts are not always good news.
They can be dangerous to sailors and can cause boat damage.
They can also smear coastline.
Scientists are hoping that this particular pubertal reef ecosystem will give impetus, but know that it is not a magical solution to stop its decline.
Bryan said: “Pump flights alone will not directly reduce the effects of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef.
“This is about an impetus of new recruits, of new corals and other organisms of reef building, that happens every five years or so.
“It’s almost like a vitamin shot for the Great Barrier Reef.”
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