Protector Shoal

Protector Shoal
Summit depth	55 m (180 ft)
Height	3,900 ft (1,200 m)
Location
Location	50 km (31 mi) NW of Zavodovski Island
Group	South Sandwich Islands
Coordinates	55°54′45″S 28°10′03″W / 55.9125°S 28.1675°W / -55.9125; -28.1675[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Geology
Type	Seamount, Submarine volcano
Last eruption	1962; 62 years ago (1962)
History
Discovery date	1962 (1962)
Discovered by	Royal Navy Ice Patrol Vessel HMS Protector

Protector Shoal is the shallowest point of the Protector Seamounts, a group of submarine volcanoes in the Southern Ocean. They are part of the South Sandwich island arc, a volcanic arc that has given rise to the South Sandwich Islands. Protector Shoal reaches a depth of 55 metres (180 ft) below sea level and is part of a larger group of seamounts that formed atop a larger ridge. Some of these seamounts bear traces of sector collapses, and one is capped by nested calderas.

The seamount erupted in 1962, probably during March, and produced a large pumice raft that was swept by ocean currents around Antarctica. Various islands near to or in the Southern Ocean, such as Australia and New Zealand, have had Protector Shoal pumice wash up on their coastlines. Pumice attributed to this eruption has been recovered as far as Hawaii. There have been no eruptions since, but there is ongoing seismicity and underwater hydrothermal venting.