BRISBANE, Australia, July 19 (UPI) -- Volcanic eruption in the southwest Pacific could save the Great Barrier Reef -- and might be responsible for its formation, an Australian researcher says.
Queensland University of Technology geologist Scott Bryan and colleagues studied the westward flow, or rafting, of pumice -- created when frothy molten rock cools rapidly and forms a lightweight bubble-rich rock that can float in water -- after volcanic eruptions in Tonga in 2001 and 2006.