 |
| Water
depth
data (shown in above graph) provided by Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory scientist Gerd Krahmann helped
confirm the existence of an undersea volcano neart
the northern-most tip of the Antarctic continent.
The red and yellow areas indicate shallower water. |
After careful examination of data,
an international team of scientists confirmed yesterday
the existence of a major undersea volcano on the seafloor
of the Antarctic Sound, near the northern-most tip
of Antarctica. Scientists announced their discovery
yesterday from the Research Vessel L. M. Gould which
has been struggling through ice-covered seas in the
Antarctic. The team is led by Hamilton College's Eugene
Domack and includes Gerd Krahmann from the Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory. (Krahmann is part of the CORC/ARCHES
expedition and has written about this trip in his Reports
From the Field.)
The yet-unnamed volcano is significant
in that it exists on a continental shelf (in this case,
on the edge of the Antarctic continental mass) and
in the vicinity of a deep trough across the seafloor
carved out by past glacial expansion.
The volcano stands 700 meters above
the seafloor and extends to within 275 meters of sea
level. It contains at least 1.5 km3 of volcanic rock.
The presence of the volcano was
first suggested by swath maps of the seafloor in January,
2002. But it was not until this April that scientists
supported by the US National Science Foundation once
again gained access to the region.
The group conducted a careful survey
of the volcano that included a bottom scanning video
recorder, rock dredges, and temperature surveys along
the sides and crest of the submarine peak.
These observations, along with historical
reports from mariners of discolored water in the vicinity
of the submerged peak, indicate that the volcano is
relatively young and has been active recently.
Members of the science team include: Dr. Eugene Domack,
(Chief Scientist) Hamilton College; Dr. Stefanie Brachfeld,
Montclair State University; Dr. Scott Ishman, Southern
Illinois University; Dr. Amy Levener, Colgate University;
Dr. Gerd Krahmann, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,
Columbia University; Dr. Robert Gilbert, Queens University,
Canada.
Related Sites:
National Science Foundation Press
Release, May 20 2004
Scientists
Discover Undersea Volcano Off Antarctica |
