Solfataras of Kueishantao.

A Spanish oceanographer, Mario Lebrato, looking for the reason for the existence of living organisms in their environment, just put online a nice video of the solfataras off the Kueishantao island, northeast of Taiwan, via Wild Blue expedition, its site.

The project, funded by the German government, in collaboration with China, aims to understand how crabs, corals and bacteria can survive in waters where sulfur levels not theoretically support life. The hypothesis, to be confirmed by future studies, is that these organizations use sulfur instead of carbohydrates to produce energy.
 

Contrary to what some tabloid newspaper headlines suggest, the volcano is not erupting, solfataras and underwater fumaroles, which discolour the water, show a hydrothermal activity (... without excluding the possibility of volcanic activity in the future).

Kueishantao island is the southernmost of a group of five small volcanic islands off the NE coast of Taiwan. It is considered as the volcano of andesitic nature the southernmost of Okinawa trough back-arc basin.

View from the Taiwanese coast, the island has a profile reminiscent of the turtle, which earned him his nickname "Turtle island"
 

Historical records from the 18th century report that Gueishan mountain, one of its other names, had been "split by a red lava flow blood." The GVP dates his last activity, with lava flows, from 1785 +/- 10 years.

Sources :

- You Tube  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h23gm-rKNsE

- Global Volcanism Program – Kueishantao

- Volcanic Characteristics of Kueishantao in Northeast Taiwan and Their Implications - Ching-Lung Chiu & al. – link

- La Opinion  - Un volcán submarino con vida ( * ) - El oceanógrafo español Mario Lebrato coordina un ambicioso proyecto para averiguar cómo ciertos organismos consiguen vivir valiéndose de azufre en aguas marinas – link

- Newsgrio - Drone captures underwater 'volcano' erupting ( * )off coast of Turtle Mountain Island – link

(*) Editor's note: These titles carry an exaggeration, if not disinformation.