Deeply Submerged Volcanoes Blow Their Tops
- 00:03:09
- YouTube
Deeply Submerged Volcanoes Blow Their Tops
A research team led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions on the Arctic Ocean seafloor almost 2.5 miles deep. Scientists did not think volcanoes submerged under such intense water pressure were capable of such violent eruptions. Researchers found jagged, glassy fragments of rock (called pyroclastic deposits) spread out over a 4-square-mile (10-square-kilometer) area around a series of small volcanic craters on the Gakkel Ridge, a remote and mostly unexplored section of the mid-ocean ridge, the volcanic undersea mountain chain that wraps around the globe. These are the first pyroclastic deposits we've ever found in such deep water, at oppressive pressures that inhibit the formation of steam, and many people thought this was not possible, said WHOI geophysicist Rob Reves-Sohn, chief scientist of an expedition to the Gakkel Ridge in July 2007. This means that a tremendous blast of carbon dioxide was released into the water column during the explosive eruption.
YouTube | September 24, 2008
