7,500 sq. miles of rock found floating on ocean
Sailor calls it "the weirdest thing I've seen in 18 years at sea."
Described by a witness as "the weirdest thing I've seen in 18 years at sea," the New Zealand Royal Navy is currently investigating a vast swath of white pumice found floating atop the South Pacific Ocean.
Pumice is a lightweight stone that you may have encountered as a food scrub. This lava rock's light weight and sharp microscopic edges make it perfect for this purpose. Pumice is formed when lava cools very quickly, as might happen when a lava flow encounters the ocean, or from an underwater volcano. The super-fast cooling causes the rock to puff up, in principle not unlike a marshmallow in the microwave. When the rock cools, this puffed-up shape causes it to be incredibly light and buoyant. Which explains why it is floating atop the ocean.
