High-definition radar satellites have revealed more than 19,000 undersea volcanoes around our planet, providing scientists with the most comprehensive catalog of seamounts ever created. The new compendium, which was published April 6 in the journal Earth and Space Science, could provide a better understanding of ocean currents, plate tectonics and climate change.
Prior to this, only one-quarter of Earth’s seafloor had been mapped using sonar, which uses sound waves to detect objects hidden underwater. A 2011 sonar census found more than 24,000 seamounts, or undersea mountains formed by volcanic activity. However, there are more than 27,000 seamounts that remain uncharted by sonar, according to the Science article.
“It’s just mind boggling,” David Sandwell, a marine geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography who worked on the survey, told Science magazine.
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