Kick 'em Jenny
{{Short description|Submarine volcano in the Caribbean Sea}}
{{Infobox seamount
| name = Kick 'em Jenny
| depth = {{convert|-185|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}{{cite gvp|vn=360160 |name=Kick 'em Jenny |accessdate=2018-01-04}}
| location = Caribbean Sea, north of Grenada
| range =
| prominence =
| height = {{convert|1300|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| map=250px
| map_caption=Location map of submarine volcano Kick-'em-Jenny
| coordinates = {{coord|12.30|N|61.64|W|type:mountain}}
| type = Submarine volcano (seamount)
| volcanic_group = Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
| age =
| last_eruption= April 2017{{Cite web
| url = https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?doi=10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN201711-360160
| title = The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre
| website = www.uwiseismic.com
| access-date = 2024-05-07
}}
| image = Kick-'em-JennySONAR.jpg
| image_caption = Sonar image of the submarine Kick-'em-Jenny cone from the NE in 1996.
}}
Kick 'em Jenny (also: Kick-'em-Jenny or Mt. Kick-'Em-Jenny) is an active submarine volcano or seamount on the Caribbean Sea floor, located {{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north of the island of Grenada and about {{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} west of Ronde Island in the Grenadines. Kick-'em-Jenny rises {{convert|1300|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above the sea floor on the steep inner western slope of the Lesser Antilles ridge. The South American tectonic plate is subducting the Caribbean tectonic plate to the east of this ridge and under the Lesser Antilles island arc.{{cite web|url=http://www.uwiseismic.com/General.aspx?id=27|title=Kick em' Jenny-Home|publisher=The University of West Indies-Seismic Center|accessdate=2009-10-16}}
Etymology
The volcano was unknown before 1939, although "Kick 'em Jenny" appeared on earlier maps as either the name of a small island now called Diamond Rock (or Île Diamante), or the name of the strait between Grenada and Ronde Island (or Île de Ronde). The name itself may be a reference to the waters sometimes being extremely rough.{{cite web | url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/WestIndies/KickEmJenny/description_kick_em_jenny.html | title=Description: Kick 'Em Jenny Volcano, West Indies | publisher=United States Geological Service | date=2001-12-12 | accessdate=2009-10-16 | last=Topinka | first=Lyn | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512101346/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/WestIndies/KickEmJenny/description_kick_em_jenny.html | archivedate=2009-05-12}}{{cite web | url=http://uwiseismic.com/General.aspx?id=55 | title=Grenada - Kick 'Em Jenny Frequently Asked Questions | publisher=University of the West Indies | accessdate=2 February 2018 | archive-date=3 February 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203124220/http://uwiseismic.com/General.aspx?id=55 | url-status=dead }}
Activity
The first record of the volcano was in 1939,Lopes, Rosaly M. C. (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=eRqrEwvIvKoC&pg=PA11 The volcano adventure guide], Cambridge University Press, Illustrated ed. p. 11. {{ISBN|0-521-55453-5}} although it must have erupted many times before that date. On 23–24 July 1939 an eruption broke the sea surface, sending a cloud of steam and debris {{convert|275|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} into the air and generating a series of tsunamis around {{convert|2|m|ft|spell=in|}} high when they reached the coastlines of northern Grenada and the southern Grenadines. A small tsunami also reached the west coast of nearby Barbados, where "a sea-wave" suddenly washed over a coastal road, most likely at Paynes Bay.
The volcano has erupted on at least twelve occasions between 1939 and 2017 (the last being on April 29, 2017), although no subsequent eruption has been as large as the 1939 one, and most were only detected by seismographs. The larger eruptions have also been heard underwater or on land close to the volcano as a deep rumbling sound.
A submersible survey in 2003 detected a crater with active fumaroles releasing cold and hot gas bubbles. Samples of fresh olivine basalt were collected. An arc-shaped collapse structure appears on the west flank and was the apparent source of a submarine debris avalanche extending {{cvt|15|km|ft||}} down the ridge slope to the west toward the Grenada Basin.{{cite web|url=http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/kick-039em-jenny|title=Kick-'em-Jenny, West Indies|last=Mattox|first=Steve|date=April 5, 2002|publisher=The University of Oregon|accessdate=2009-10-16}} The Global Volcanism Program reports the summit to be {{convert|185|m|0|abbr=on}} below the sea surface.
Signs of elevated seismicity began July 11, 2015, and on July 23 a strong continuous signal was recorded by instruments observing Kick 'em Jenny, prompting authorities to raise the alert level to orange, which is the second-highest level.{{cite web|title=Changed Alert Level at Kick 'em Jenny Submarine Volcano |url=http://www.uwiseismic.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=365 |website=The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre |accessdate=24 July 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724070717/http://www.uwiseismic.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=365 |archivedate=24 July 2015 |url-status=dead }} The following day, July 24, at 02:00 an hourlong explosion event was recorded, scientists from the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre observed nothing out of the ordinary at the surface above the volcano during an overflight on 25 July, and by 18:00 no activity was recorded.{{Cite web
| url = http://www.uwiseismic.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=368
| title = The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre
| website = www.uwiseismic.com
| access-date = 2016-02-27
}} On 26 July the Alert Level was lowered to Yellow.{{Cite web |title=Global Volcanism Program {{!}} Report on Kick 'em Jenny (Grenada) — 22 July-28 July 2015 |url=https://volcano.si.edu/ShowReport.cfm?doi=10.5479/si.GVP.WVAR20150722-360160 |access-date=2016-02-27 |website=volcano.si.edu |language=en}}
Maritime exclusion zone
The volcano is on the shipping route from St Vincent to Grenada. There is a Maritime Exclusion Zone monitored by the Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. The zone normally encompasses a circle with a radius of {{cvt|1.5|km|0||}} from the centre of the volcano. Bubbles of volcanic gases can lower water density, creating a sinking hazard.{{Cite web|url=http://uwiseismic.com/General.aspx?id=53|title=The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre|website=uwiseismic.com|access-date=2020-04-20}} This is marked on marine charts. During periods of high seismic activity, the zone is expanded to a {{convert|5|km|adj=on}} radius.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Seamounts of the Caribbean