A massive 100 million-year-old ancient extinct volcano has been discovered four kilometres underwater in one of the least explored areas of the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists, at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), on a seafloor mapping mission found a new seamount near the Johnson Atoll in the Pacific.
The summit of the seamount rises 1,100 meters from the 5,100-metre-deep ocean floor. The seamount was discovered in August by James Gardner, research professor in the UNH-NOAA Centre for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Centre.
The seamount’s impact remains unknown It’s too deep (its summit lies nearly 4,000 meters beneath the surface of the ocean) to be a navigation hazard or to provide rich fisheries.