Researchers have mapped out the location where there are thousands of previously undiscovered mountains in the depths of the world’s oceans.
Researchers have mapped out the locations where there are thousands of previously undiscovered mountains in the depths of the world’s oceans.
Using radar data from NASA and European Space Agency satellites, results of the probe will be combined with previous research to create a map of the underwater mountains that are at a height of just under one mile tall, called seamounts.
Authors of the study wrote: “One of the most important uses of this new marine gravity field will be to improve the estimates of seafloor depth in the 80% of the oceans that remains uncharted or is buried beneath thick sediment.”
The previous data had located five thousand seamounts at around one point two miles high, but using the lower cut off point, experts say they might discover up to 25 thousand more seamounts.
Radar from satellites can infer the shape of the ocean bottom, in which water follows the gravity of the planet to be pulled higher in places where there are seamounts, and lower where deep trenches exist.
This information will be useful for a variety of purposes like ocean wildlife management and fisheries, along with understanding how the deep ocean currents affect the climate of our planet.
