Massive Extinct Volcano Discovered Beneath Pacific Ocean
19 October 2018 19:18 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Scientists discovered a massive extinct volcano mountain at a depth of 5.1 kilometers beneath the Pacific Ocean. The seamount, which is located near Mount Jarvis, is about 1.1 kilometers.
"These seamounts are very common, but we don't know about them, because most of the places that we go out and map have never been mapped before," James Gardner, a University of New Hampshire research professor who works at the university's NOAA Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center, said in a statement.
Gardner’s team found the seamount on August 13. They used a 12-kHz multibeam eacho sounder, which uses sonar to detect contours on the ocean floor. “Late that night, the seamount appeared out of the blue," said Gardner.
The researchers have yet to explore the effect of the 100-million year seamount on the surrounding environment. However, these underwater mountains often become habitat for marine life such as commercially important fish species. “It might have something in it we may be interested in 100 years from now,” said Gardner.
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