Oceanographers Discover Massive Sea Mountain In the Pacific Ocean Taller Than Mount Olympus
Oceanographers have found an underwater mountain and mapped it, revealing that its height is equal to four Burj Khalifas stacked on top of each other.
The gigantic seamount in the Pacific Ocean is 1448 km off the Chilean coast and rises 3109 m from the ocean floor.
It is part of an underwater mountain range bustling with life, including corals, marine creatures and rare species of squid which have not been previously recorded.
The seamount was discovered in a 28-day expedition which was led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute on board a research vessel named R/V Falkor.
This finding is quite significant because just 26% of the sea floor has been mapped with such detail.
Oceanographers have said that there are about 100,000 sea mounts across the world which are more than 1000 m or 3280 feet tall.
These mountains are vital habitats for many marine species and this newly found seamount is taller than Mount Olympus in Greece and shorter than Mount Fuji in Japan.
The team explored one of its ridges using an underwater robot and found great biodiversity, including a ghostly white octopus nicknamed Casper.