Kick 'em Jenny, an underwater volcano located in the Eastern Caribbean, may erupt, leading to a series of earthquakes and providing scientists with a rare opportunity to study these geological events.
Professor Richard Robertson, director of the University of the West Indies, or UWI, Seismic Research Centre, said “an eruption hasn't happened yet, but it could happen, which is why we're keeping an eye on it.”
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Robertson noted that the buoyancy of ships traveling near the volcano could be affected by increased gas emissions.
He stressed that while the volcano presents no imminent danger to the region, all cargo and cruise ships, as well as other other vessels, are advised to maintain a five-kilometre exclusion zone from the site of the underwater volcano, located approximately kilometers off Grenada. An orange alert was issued this past Sunday to warn ships to avoi the area, according to Cayman News.
"The exclusion zone has expanded. At orange alert because we think an eruption is imminent, the advice is to make sure ships, fishermen etc stay further away from the site of the volcano," Robertson said. “Due to this activity, you could have a lot more gases being emitted from the volcano. Hot rock gets to the surface and if it does that, of course, it will change the temperature of the areas around the volcano."
Geological activiy emitted from Kick 'em Jenny has signifcantly decreased between Mar. 12 and 15. However, previous lulls have not guaranteed that activity has ceased. The UWI Seismic Research Centre and the Grenada National Disaster Management Agency continue to monitor the volcano.