When a volcano erupts does the lava come out and kill sea creatures?
Yes!! It can happen, especially if they are in the way of a lava flow. Just such an event happened at 9N latitude on the East Pacific Rise in the Pacific Ocean where a new lava flow covered and cooked a cluster of tube worms and killed them. This area was known as the “Tube Worm Barbeque” site. Fortunately, within a year or two after the eruption, new worms had already come in to colonize the seafloor. (Matt Schrenk) [More info at Dr. Dawn Wright’s web site or here.] Do volcanic eruptions change the ocean floor? Very simply, yes, and drastically. Eruptions, in addition to creating most of the seafloor geology we observe (until it is covered by sediments), do a lot to the biology and microbiology of the ocean. Many times eruptions destroy biology that has been living in hydrothermal vent areas. But more often than not, eruptions flush the habitats beneath the seafloor of any microbiology living within the crust, allowing these microorganisms to find new homes, and colonize new areas. Al
