Video: underwater volcano eruption

More than 1,800 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean, the eruptions of an undersea volcano have revealed themselves on film, including the ejection of glowing red lava and the sounds of exploding gases.

“It’s the first place where we’ve been able to observe an active volcanic eruption underwater,” said Bill Chadwick of the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, who led the group that observed the volcano with a remotely operated vehicle.

“Most of the geology that we probably eventually see, a large part of that has happened underwater,” said Michael Perfit, a marine geologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “We have to look backwards and try to figure out how it happened. By looking at this, you get a sense of how these very important processes take place.”

The team will return with the remotely operated vehicle next spring to make more visual observations. But the last expedition could be hard to top.

From Discovery Channel: Watch amazing video here