New discovery about Nishinoshima volcanic island in Japan

A new island in the sea of ​​Japan is giving scientists a rare opportunity to study how life appears in barren lands.

New findings about Nishinoshima volcanic island in Japan

Scientists believe that bird droppings and decomposing organic waste are the secret ingredients to start life on this volcanic island.

Rising above the Pacific Ocean 1,000km south of Tokyo in 2013 , the new island 'swallowed' its neighboring island, Nishinoshima , part of Japan's Ogasawara Islands , famous for its wealth and biodiversity.

Nishinoshima Island.(Source: AFP / Getty Images)

New Nishinoshima island with a total area of 2.46km2 is now full of rocks, formed from cold lava. But scientists think that someday plants will grow on the island, just as animals will appear in this so-called " natural laboratory ".

' We are focusing on studying the new island, because we have been given the opportunity to observe the beginning of the evolution process ,' said Professor Naoki Kachi, head of the Tokyo University Ogasawara Research Council.

According to him, after the volcanic activity subsided, 'trees drifting by the waves and sticking to birds will appear on the island .' Sea birds may also come here to live. Feces, shedding, leftovers and their corpses will become nutritional sources that help the soil become fertile, promote the seeds blown by the wind or sprouted by birds.

Japan , a country located at the junction of many tectonic plates, is home to more than 100 active volcanoes. The old Nishinoshima island with an area of ​​only 0.22 square kilometers was once the home of many birds until the volcanic eruption scared the birds away. There are only a few birds still sticking on the old island and nesting on ash-covered branches.

Scientists don't know when the volcano on Nishinoshima island will stop spraying lava, but its expansion is slowing because the island edges are thickening. Currently the island is still being observed from above, but the first field researchers have also prepared a cautious mind to set foot on the island.

' Biologists will know what to do, but perhaps the first scientists to set foot on the island will be geologists and volcanologists. I will be happy to advise these colleagues, 'said Professor Kachi.