Brazil will gather aircraft debris on Fernando DE Noronha, a sparsely populated volcanic archipelago and nature reserve off its northeastern coast.

The Japanese archipelago is located on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, a large active volcanic and tectonic zone ringing North and South America, Asia and island arcs in Southeast Asia.

As these volcanoes grow, they rise above the ocean surface to form lines of islands along the leading edge of the overriding plate.