The researchers made a significant discovery when they discovered a massive underwater mountain, also known as a seamount, on the Pacific Ocean floor off the coast of Guatemala.
As with other seamounts, the NOAA Ocean Exploration—a federal program under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—strongly suggests that the seamount is most likely the remnant of an extinct volcano.
The seamount was discovered to be 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) tall, almost twice as tall as the world’s tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, according to a press release from the nonprofit Schmidt Ocean Institute, which conducted cutting-edge oceanographic research.
The massive mountain, which covers 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) and is located 2,400 meters (7,874 feet) below sea level, was discovered in July during an SOI expedition as part of the institute’s efforts to further explore the ocean using a research vessel known as Falkor (too).
The ship was designed to map the seafloor using a multibeam echosounder, which sends out sound waves in a fan-shaped pattern to the ocean floor and then measures the time it takes for the sound to touch the ocean floor and return.
Tomer Ketter, a hydrographer and marine technician with the Schmidt Ocean Institute who was also on board, stated that the seamount was not recorded in any database that measures ocean depths, including the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans.
Over 100,000 seamounts can be discovered
In a press release, the executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute Dr Jyotika Virmani said, “A seamount over 1.5 kilometers tall which has, until now, been hidden under the waves really highlights how much we have yet to discover.”
“A complete seafloor map is a fundamental element of understanding our Ocean so it’s exciting to be living in an era where technology allows us to map and see these amazing parts of our planet for the first time,” she added.
The seamount was discovered 84 nautical miles outside Guatemala’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
According to NOAA, there are more than 100,000 seamounts taller than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in the world, but only about one-tenth of them have been explored.
“Seamounts have been explored only relatively recently due to the advent of human-occupied submersibles and very capable remotely operated vehicles (ROVs),” stated Les Watling, an emeritus biology professor with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, via email, as reported by CNN.