Scientists confirm the existence of a giant lava dome that is growing in Japan's underwater supervolcano. This structure was formed after the super eruption Akahoya killed the entire Jomon community in the Kyushu archipelago and left the Kikai Caldera about 7,300 years ago. The research team that invented the dome, including Professor Yoshiyuki Tatsumi of the Kobe Ocean-Bottom Exploration Center, said that the possibility of a super eruption at the same point is very small, about one percent in 100 years. But if it erupts, Professor Tatsumi estimates that the number of victims could reach 110 million people. Also read: The eruption of Mount Toba, did it really trigger extreme winter in Africa? Professor Tatsumi and the team discovered a lava dome while performing three surveys exploring the grounds of the Kikai Caldera in 2017. They found that the lava dome had sprouted up to 600 meters above the sea floor. This indicates a magma space of 32 cubic kilometers growing in it
Analysis of the rocks on the dome also shows that some small lava bursts have been out of the surface since the Akahoya eruption. These results have been published in the journal Scientific Reports. To the Japanese Mainichi newspaper, Professor Tatsumi revealed his plans to return to Kikai Caldera with the team in March. They will lower the underwater robot to reveal the process of volcano occurrence, as well as determine the size of the accumulation of magma with seismic and electromagnetic methods. The data will then be used to predict the next super eruption.