Scientists baffled after discovering four giant mountain ranges hidden under the ocean

“The tallest one is over a mile and a half high, but we didn’t know it was there.”

mountain under the sea

A team of scientists aboard a research vessel off the coast of South America has made the surprising discovery of four previously unknown giant underwater mountain ranges ranging from 5,200 feet to 8,800 feet high. The discovery highlights how little we know about the oceans that cover much of the Earth. Recent estimates suggest that more than 80 percent of the ocean remains unmapped, much less explored.

“The tallest one is over 1.5 miles high, and we really didn’t know it was there,” said Jyothika Virmani of the Schmidt Institute of Oceanography. ) said. new scientist.

gravity anomaly

Virmani and his team used sonar equipment to investigate the gravity anomaly while sailing from Costa Rica to Chile. These abnormalities are usually the result of masses that are difficult to identify. In this case, the entire mountain protrudes from the ocean floor.

“We thought maybe one or two, but it’s incredible that we found four,” Virmani said. new scientist. “It shows how little we know what’s out there.”

Because seamounts have sloping sides, they are usually full of life. Last year, an international team of scientists, including Virmani, discovered a habitat for deep-sea octopuses near a cold hydrothermal vent near a previously unknown seamount off the coast of Costa Rica.

Virmani and his team have discovered 29 seamounts so far, but this is just a fraction of the mountains yet to be discovered.

There could be more than 100,000 of them, at least 3,300 feet tall, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration Organization.

Another study conducted last year looked at global satellite observations and concluded that nearly 20,000 seamounts remain undiscovered, although more than 24,600 have already been mapped. .

“The fact that we don’t have a map of the ocean floor is crazy,” said Kelly Howell, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth who was not involved in the study. new scientist.

Studying these hidden giants is more important than ever, especially because of their incredible biodiversity. Fortunately, scientists are using high-tech mapping techniques to get a better picture, and their research could greatly support ongoing conservation efforts.

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