Seamount Twice As High as Burj Khalifa Identified by SOI Expedition

Researchers have unearthed a new massive underwater mountain in the Pacific Ocean. It was the third seamount discovered since the research vessel Falkor launched in March.

New Seamount in the Pacific Ocean

An expedition led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) located the seamount around 84 miles beyond Guatemala's exclusive economic zone in international seas. Its lowest point is about 13,100 feet below sea level, and its highest point is about 7,900 feet down. The undersea volcano, rising 5,249 feet above the ocean surface, is about twice as tall as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is currently the highest structure in the world.

The EM124 multibeam echo sounder on the research vessel Falkor (too) was used to observe the seamount discovered in the recent SOI expedition. High-resolution mapping of the seabed can be accomplished using the equipment.

An expert on board verified that the seamount was not included in any ocean floor databases after the echo sounder detected it. According to the data, the submerged mountain spans over five square miles.

"A seamount over 1.5 kilometers [0.9 miles] tall which has, until now, been hidden under the waves really highlights how much we have yet to discover," Jyotika Virmani, executive director of SOI, said in a press release. "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!"

Since its launch in March, the research vessel Falkor (also) has found three seamounts, the most recent of which is the third. The Galápagos Islands Marine Reserve is home to the two previously mentioned features. The ship has also discovered two unspoiled cold-water coral reefs, three new hydrothermal vent fields, and a unique ecosystem beneath hydrothermal vents.

According to Wendy Schmidt, co-founder and president of SOI, "those aboard Falkor (too) have found the unexpected, the awe-inspiring, the new on every expedition." We are excited to keep researching our ocean because, even though so much is still unknown, we have learned so much as discoveries come to light more quickly.

A crucial part of comprehending our world is mapping and investigating uncharted seafloor territory. The ambitious goal of mapping the seafloor by 2030 has been established by the Seabed 2030 initiative, of which SOI is a partner.

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What Is a Seamount?

Seamount is an underwater mountain with steep sides rising from the seafloor. They are remnants of extinct volcanoes.

They are usually cone-shaped, although some have enormous, flat summits called guyots, and they frequently have other notable characteristics like craters and linear ridges. Seamounts come in a wide range of sizes, but to be called a seamount, a feature must rise at least 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above the seafloor.

Every ocean basin in the world contains seamounts, and while their exact number is unknown, they are pretty standard. Seamounts at least 1,000 meters high are estimated to number more than 100,000 based on bathymetric mapping data from survey ships and satellite altimetry data. However, less than 1/10 of a percent of the world's seamounts have been explored despite their abundance.