After a weeks-long deepsea expedition, researchers from several universities around the world have discovered three underwater #volcanoes off #Sicily. My latest. #sea #Italy #volcano https://t.co/7lNcBVZktB
— Lorenzo Tondo (@lorenzo_tondo) August 9, 2023
Scientists studying the Mediterranean Sea have discovered three large underwater volcanoes and the wreckage of a sunken ship measuring more than 300 feet in length. The study marks an important discovery that sheds light on a previously unexplored seabed, Newsweek reports.
According to the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS), the campaign, called M191 SUAVE, took place aboard the German vessel Meteor between July 16 and August 5. The ship used sonar and a magnetometer to scan the previously unexplored seabed along the Sicily Channel (the strait between the island of Sicily and the North African nation of Tunisia).
As a result, the expedition discovered three large underwater volcanoes. Each one is at least 3.5-miles wide and rises more than 490 feet above the surrounding seabed. Researchers collected rock samples to be studied in the coming months. Though there is hydrothermal activity in the area, according to The Guardian ,researchers believe it is unlikely the volcanoes are still active.
“This information will be essential for reconstructing the geological history of one of the most complex regions of the central Mediterranean where, starting about four to five-million years ago, a system of deep pits developed linked to tectonic processes,” said Giulia Matilde Ferrante, an OGS researcher who participated in the expedition.
The expedition also discovered the wreck of a 330-foot long ship, lying at at a depth of 360 feet, about halfway between the volcanic island of Linosa and Sicily. However, very little is known about the wreck, as the researchers were unable to establish how old it was.
In addition to making new discoveries, the expedition also debunked a few existing beliefs about the bathymetry of the region. Several previously reported seamounts (undersea mountains produced by volcanic activity) were found to not actually exist.
“It is incredible to discover new geological elements even today in a sea like the Mediterranean, which has been crossed by all types of boats for millennia. This clearly shows how little known the seabed still is, even near the coasts,” OGS researcher Jonathan Ford, who was on board the expedition, said to Newsweek.
