'Weirdest thing' floats in South Pacific
By Todd Sperry, CNN
updated 10:36 PM EDT, Fri August 10, 2012
(CNN) -- Pumice, the lightweight stone used to smooth skin, is usually found in beauty salons, but on Thursday
sailors from New Zealand's Royal Navy found nearly 10,000 square miles of the lava rock bobbing on the surface of the South Pacific Ocean. By comparison, the state of Rhode Island comprises approximately 1,200 square miles.
Described by one sailor who witnessed it as "
the weirdest thing I've seen in 18 years at sea," the sea of white rock was initially spotted by air and then relayed to a ship for further investigation, according to a statement released by the New Zealand Royal Navy.
"The lookout reported
a shadow on the ocean ahead of us, so I ordered the ship's spotlight to be trained on the area ... as far ahead as I could observe was a raft of pumice moving up and down with the swell," Lt. Tim Oscar said.
snip
According to scientists who briefed Navy officials,
a volcano named Monowai has been active in the region and the pumice could be a result of recent eruptions.
See photo and read more here:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/floating-pumice/index.html?hpt=hp_t3