A submerged volcano on the seamount known as the Home Reef in the central Tonga Islands has awoken after 16 years of deep sleep to poke its head out of the blue.

Though it would barely grow much taller, on September 20 officials from the Tonga Geological Services (TGS) announced that the island had swelled six times in size, expanding to 24,000 square meters.

So much debris was produced by the submerged Tonga volcano in the 2006 event, an expansive raft of the frothy volcanic glass known as pumice was set adrift across the South Pacific, giving the eery appearance of land.

Since 1852, Home Reef has produced islands on five occasions, some reaching between 50 and 70 meters in height.