America's Road to Fame

Chapter 313 New Atlanta Island

The Atlanta volcano erupted on October 10 and lasted for three full days. However, according to expert analysis, fortunately, the type of volcanic eruption this time was mainly a rare fissure eruption, so the subsequent impact on the surrounding environment will be lower.

The type of volcanic eruption depends on the composition, volatile content, temperature and viscosity of the magma, the characteristics of the underground magma ascending channel, and the tectonic environment where the magma is ejected.

Specifically, such as basaltic magma, which contains low silicon dioxide, relatively little volatile components, high magma temperature, and low viscosity, so the magma has high fluidity, and volcanic eruptions are relatively quiet, mostly magma eruptions, which can be A large area of ​​lava terraces and shield volcanoes are formed.

The rhyolitic and andesitic magma is rich in silica and volatile components, and its temperature is low, its viscosity is high, and its fluidity is poor. Therefore, the volcanic eruption is violent, the explosion is loud, and a large amount of volcanic ash and volcanic bombs are ejected. Tall pyroclastic cones, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and glowing cloud phenomena, often cause severe damage.

After detection, the Atlanta volcano eruption this time was a fissure eruption of basaltic magma accompanied by a small central eruption.

In this eruption, magma overflows the surface through long and narrow linear deep fractures in the earth's crust, and generally there is little explosion.

At present, rift eruptions are very common in mid-ocean ridges, and Iceland, which is located above the mid-Atlantic ridge, can see rift eruptions, so this type of eruption is also called "Icelandic".

However, some central eruptions also appeared in the Atlanta volcanic eruption. It is likely to be a mixture of the two methods, which originated from a rare violent crustal extrusion.

In the central eruption, magma is ejected out of the surface along a certain tubular channel, and the lava covers a small area, which is the most important type of modern volcanic activity.

Therefore, if the volcanic eruption this time is completely a central eruption, especially the most powerful form of volcanic eruption-Pliny-style volcanic eruption, then during the eruption, a strong explosion can eject volcanic ash to a distance of more than 45 kilometers. High in the stratosphere, and with the movement of the atmosphere, volcanic ash covers a wide area.

If that is the case, because the volcanic ash is spread all over the stratosphere, it is difficult to continue to fall. Not only will it block the sunlight, which will affect the growth of vegetation around Atlan Island, but also because of the nearby climate, once it rains, the rain will be acidic. When the volcanic ash is brought down, it will form acid rain, which is very corrosive.

Moreover, the eruption in the center is relatively explosive, so the tsunami formed is also very violent. For example, if it occurs in Atlanta, not only Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the surrounding archipelago countries will suffer greatly, but also the tsunami Even Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Lijiapo and other places farther away will maintain extremely strong destructive power, and even Guam, where William Chen is now, will form a tsunami of at least one or two meters and rush to the beach.

This is why the volcano erupted in Atlanta at the beginning, and seeing that scene made all the surrounding countries feel like they were facing a big enemy.

But it is precisely because the volcanic eruption in Atlanta this time was mainly a fissure eruption, and there were not many eruptions in the center. When the subsequent tsunami reached Guam, it only caused a wave about 15cm high.

However, Papua New Guinea, which is close to it, still suffered a lot of damage, especially the Malus Province, which is the closest to Atlanta Island. The damage suffered not only caused at least 2000 casualties, but also caused heavy economic losses.

Even the naval base built by the U.S. military there during World War II was completely destroyed by the tsunami.

The refugee camp on Marus Island suffered the most casualties.Australia accepts about 12000 refugees every year, but there are also many refugees who are not admitted through official channels, but from war-torn countries such as the Middle East, and seek refuge in Australia through smugglers. After being detained, some of them will be sent to refugee detention centers funded overseas by them, and they will not be allowed to enter Australia.

The two most famous Australian overseas refugee detention centers are in Palu and Papua New Guinea's Malus Island. These two places rely on helping Australia detain refugees and earn extra income.

However, after the Atlanta Fund bought Palu Island, according to the agreement, all the refugees on the island were transferred to Malus Island.This has led to the current detention of more than 1000 refugees on Malus Island.

Because it will restrict the freedom of refugees and prevent them from escaping to Australia again, and the conditions of refugee detention centers will not be very good. Therefore, during the tsunami attack, the refugees on Malus Island were not transferred in time. 600 people were included in the casualty list, accounting for as much as 30% of the total casualties in the Malus Province (not only including Malus Island, but also many nearby archipelagos). Human rights organizations and opposition parties lashed out wildly.

There are even a minority of members of parliament calling on Australia to take those people back and not to cause this kind of humanitarian disaster again.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with William Chen. By the time the tsunami arrived in Guam and had weakened enough to cause no damage here, it was already 5 days after the Atlanta volcano erupted.

Now that the most dangerous time has passed, in order to investigate the current situation of Atlan Island, the Eclipse and Poseidon started to set off for Atlan Island after sufficient supplies.

They have also learned about the current general situation of Atlanta through satellite photos. The volcanic eruption lasted for more than three days, and there are still sporadic smog covering Atlanta, but they can already see the general outline of the island. .

This surprised countless people, because the current area of ​​Atlan Island has been greatly expanded due to the accumulation of volcanic lava. Compared with the satellite photos before the volcanic eruption, the area of ​​​​Atlan Island has expanded by a full dozen This is why members of the Atlanta Management Committee, including Erica, are eager to set off. They need to complete the exploration of Atlanta Island as soon as possible.

The ability to start now is also due to this volcanic eruption, which is mainly a relatively quiet fissure eruption, which does not bring out so much gas and volcanic ash. Otherwise, if an eruption of this intensity is in the form of a burst, Then even if the eruption is complete, it will take at least ten days to get close, otherwise the residual toxic gas will cause great damage or even death to people.

In this departure, in addition to the Eclipse and the Poseidon, there is also a supply ship temporarily hired by them that belongs to the Guam Naval Base. Some materials purchased include simple barracks, tents, generators, gas detectors, communication and other equipment.

Obviously, after this volcanic eruption, the original Atlan Island has been completely covered by rocks cooled by magma, and it has become a barren land. Now they need to rebuild on this blank space. First of all, It is to complete the garrison and form a preliminary order.

Three days later, on October 10, the fleet arrived at Atlan Island again, and what appeared before their eyes was a strange black and gray island.

In order to ensure safety, the fleet stopped a few nautical miles away from Atlan Island, and the Poseidon began to circle the island, conduct inspections, and expel nearby scouting ships in the name of safety.

Helicopters took off from the Poseidon, carrying gas detection equipment, and flew to New Atlanta to investigate.

When the helicopter approached the island, through the camera on it, you can see that the island is really deserted, and all you can see are large rocks after the magma has cooled. Some places are still emitting white smoke, which is normal. Thousands of degrees of magma, in the inner area, will still maintain a certain temperature in some places.

When the gas detector showed that everything was normal and there was no toxicity alarm, the helicopter found a relatively flat place and landed slowly.

Two members of the Southern Cross Security Company wearing gas masks disembarked from the helicopter. They explored the island, boarded a high ground, assembled the flagpoles they carried, and put the flag with the Atlanta logo on it. Inserted on it, thus completing the declaration of ownership of this New Atlanta Island.

(End of this chapter)