A chain of 12 active underwater volcanoes is discovered in Antarctica

    In Antarctica, 12 huge underwater volcanoes, many of them active, have been discovered by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey near the remote South Sandwich Islands. Mapping of the previously unknown chain of volcanoes was made possible using sophisticated sonar technologies during a research trip aboard the RRS James Clark Ross.



    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    In Antarctica, 12 huge underwater volcanoes, many of them active, have been discovered by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey near the remote South Sandwich Islands. Mapping of the previously unknown chain of volcanoes was made possible using sophisticated sonar technologies during a research trip aboard the RRS James Clark Ross.



    The exceptional discovery, the first of its kind in the Antarctic area, aroused considerable amazement in the scientists themselves, also because most of these underwater volcanoes exceed the 3000 meters high with craters with a diameter of 5 km e 7 of these would even be visible above the sea as a chain of islands.

    "We started studying this seemingly desolate area of ​​ocean, because there was a large empty area on the map and we had no idea what could be hiding in the seabed," said Dr Phil Leat from the British Antarctic Survey at the International Science Symposium. Land in Antardite - and suddenly the sea floor rose below us. It was an exciting and adventure-filled journey “.

    A chain of 12 active underwater volcanoes is discovered in Antarctica

    But the discovery is also important for understanding what happens when i volcanoes erupt below sea level and their potential to create serious risks such as tsunamis as well as from a marine ecosystem point of view: with its waters heated by volcanic activity, the underwater landscape creates a habitat rich in many species of wildlife and adds to valuable for biodiversity and for understanding life on Earth.

    "There are many things we don't understand about volcanic activity under the sea - continued Leat - The technologies that scientists can now use from ships not only give us the opportunity to reconstruct the history of the evolution of our earth, but also help to shed new light on the development of natural events that pose dangers to people living in the most populated regions of the planet. "



    Simona Falasca

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