Scientists discover nearly 20,000 underwater volcanoes

2023-05-02 20:10:00

Despite the undeniable scientific advances in recent centuries — man has already gone to the moon — only a quarter of the entire ocean floor of our planet has been mapped. There are, therefore, gaps in our understanding of the underwater world. But this reality can change, because recently scientists announced the discovery of almost 20,000 underwater volcanoes, through a new batch of satellite data.

The scientific team responsible for the discovery was led by scientist Julie Gevorgian, from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in California. The discovery of volcanoes, “underwater peaks”, is an “incredible thing to think about, especially when you realize the size of these seamounts and how previously unknown they were,” Gevorgian told the scientific journal Newsweek.

underwater mountains

A chain of underwater volcanoes, also known as seamounts. (NOAA Ocean Exploration)

Underwater volcanoes can reach an impressive 10 kilometers in height. According to the scientists, the structures tend to be easily detected by the ships’ sonar. For ten years, researchers have been using satellite data in order to detect small bumps on the surface of the ocean and map seamounts.

Using sonar, Dr. Gevorgian identified 19,325 new underwater volcanoes, adding to the 24,643 other seamounts already mapped in 2011. The current discovery brings the number of known seamounts to 43,968, which doubles the number of volcanoes mapped.

The scientific community says the discoveries could deepen our understanding of ocean currents, plate tectonics, volcanism and marine life in vast areas under the sea surface that have yet to be properly mapped. However, scientists estimate that there may be as many as 55,000 undersea volcanoes yet to be discovered. The full article was published in the scientific journal Earth and Space Science.

Read too