How were underwater volcanoes able to erupt frequently enough to create islands, instead of the water cooling down the magma and clogging them?

Question

How were underwater volcanoes able to erupt frequently enough to create islands, instead of the water cooling down the magma and clogging them?

In: 1

Answer 1

The water *does* cool down the magma. That’s what becomes the island: the cooled down magma. But it won’t cool down the source (deep in the earth) and it won’t “clog” it because it’s moving. Or rather, the crust of the Earth moves over the hot spot, which is why these islands end up as strings of islands.