Volcanos

Volcano Discovery

More than 19,000 previously uncharted undersea volcanoes, or seamounts, have been discovered using radar sensors aboard orbiting satellites. Oceanographers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanology and a Chungnam National University colleague made the discoveries by deriving the locations of the seamounts from the gravitational pull they exert on the ocean’s surface, which radar can detect. Many seamounts are rich in rare-earth minerals and provide a habitat for many forms of marine life. The new mapping could help determine deep-sea currents and prevent future submarine collisions with seamounts.