Researchers found 26 undersea volcanoes that date to 35 million years earlier nearAustralia Credit: P. Reynolds, S. Holford, N. Schofield, and A. Ross
Today in news finest fit for tricky little Hobbitses and Shire- folk, researchers revealed a map of a distant volcanic world that has an unique appearance of Mordor about it. Unfortunately for any ring bearers, the molten landscape has actually most likely been concealed undersea for countless years.
The”Tolkienesque” area of submarine volcanoes buried below the sea south of Australia was found by a group of scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) inAustralia The group used 3D seismic reflection, a geo-mapping strategy that utilizes seismic waves to determine subsurface structures. With this innovation, the scientists determined 26 different volcanoes buried approximately 820 feet (250 meters) below seabed sediment. Some of the ancient volcanoes rise to 2,000 feet (625 m) in height and are surrounded by numerous lava functions never ever prior to studied undersea, the research study stated.
“The technology we have used is similar in many ways to what is used to produce ultrasound images of babies, but for the Earth,” research study author Nick Schofield, a senior speaker at the University of Aberdeen’s School of Geosciences, stated in a declaration launched Wednesday (Jan 17). “By using this technique, we have a unique insight into a landscape that has remained hidden for millions of years.” [Dark Waters: The World’s Most Mysterious Places on The Seas]
Inthe research study, which was released in the November 2017 edition of theAmerican Geophysical Union’s journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, scientists dated the volcanoes to the Eocene date, which occurred approximately 50 million to 33 million years earlier. The network of amazing lava streams surrounding the volcanoes– recognized jointly as the Bight Basin Igneous Complex– was most likely developed throughout an undersea eruption approximately 35 million years earlier, the research study stated.
“By using data acquired as part of oil-exploration efforts, we have been able to map these ancient lava flows in unprecedented detail,”Schofield stated. From this seismic information, the scientists figured out that a few of the ancient lava streams determine more than 21 miles (34 kilometers) long and 9 miles (15 km) broad.
Across these miles of surface, the streams branch into paths, increase into plateaus, plunge into trenches and spread out into elliptical-shaped “islands” of solidified lava. Researchers compared these islands to land-based lava functions called “kipukas,” separated hills or plots of a little raised land that end up being totally surrounded by lava after eruptions. Features like these have actually never ever been explained by undersea seismic information prior to, the research study stated, so this brand-new research study offers scientists a fresh appearance at the habits of submarine eruptions.
At press time, no Nazg ûl were observed patrolling the volcanoes.
Originally released on LiveScience.
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