Scientists use deep-sea robots to discover huge lava fields around an active volcano

Scientists mapped enormous lava flow fields on an underwater volcano.

These flows are significantly larger than any previously recorded eruptions.

Molten rock pooled beneath a hardened crust, swelling to extraordinary thickness.

This process reshaped the ocean floor and offers clues about caldera collapse.

Researchers estimate the next major caldera-forming eruption may occur thousands of years from now.