New Delhi: A recently published research in the journal Earth and Space Science, shares information about ocean currents, plate tectonics and climate change. Recently, with the help of high-definition radar satellites, more than 19 thousand volcanoes have been discovered under the sea on Earth.
Mapping using sonar system
Earlier in 2011, using sonar, which detects ocean objects through sound waves, a quarter of Earth’s oceans were mapped and more than 24,000 seamounts, formed by volcanic activity were discovered. However, there are over 27,000 seamounts that cannot be detected by sonar. However, according to this research, the scientists said, a small sea volcano with a height of 1,214 feet can provide an accurate estimate of the depth of the ocean floor.
Increase in natural calamities
Scripps Institution of Oceanography marine geophysicist David Sandville, who is working on this survey, said that if the volcano erupts violently in the future, disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis may occur, as happened last year due to the eruption of the Tonga volcano. Scientists should no longer rely on sonar to study the ocean, new research suggests. Rather a ‘radar satellite’ like system helps to explore the depths of the ocean as well as the secrets hidden within it.
Radar satellite system is very important
Radar satellite is able to better represent the undersea structures, which could prove to be very important from a research point of view. Scientists collected data from several satellites, including the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2, and found that they could detect mounds as small as 3,609 feet under water.
According to the report, they have explored the lowest point of the seamounts. The system has helped a lot in mapping the northeast Atlantic Ocean, the scientists added, and has also revealed the cause of the metal plume in Iceland. Besides ocean currents, it has also helped to better understand ‘upwellings’. Upwelling occurs when water from the bottom of the ocean moves upward toward the surface.
