SCIENTISTS have uncovered nearly 20,000 ancient volcanoes at the bottom of the ocean.
The discovery was led by earth scientist Julie Gevorgian of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
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Researchers used satellite data to uncover more than 19,000 underwater volcanoes – or seamounts.
Gevorgian told Newsweek that finding that many peaks in the ocean is “incredible to think about.”
“Especially when you realize just how big these seamounts are and how they were previously unknown,” she added.
The seamounts, created by volcanic activity deep beneath the ocean’s surface, can measure around 6.2 miles high.
Normally, they are detected by sonar, but only if a ship is passing over them.
For this reason, scientists have been experimenting with satellite data to detect underwater mounts.
Specifically, data was gathered from the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 satellite and SARAL, which is operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation and Centre National d’Études Spatiales.
And thanks to this new method, Gevorgian and her team identified 19,325 new undersea volcanoes.
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This is in addition to 24,643 other mounts that were discovered by scientists back in 2011.
Out of the peaks, the smallest volcano measured around 421 meters high.
Meanwhile, most were taller than 700 meters, with some even measuring up to 2,500 meters above the seabed.
The study was published earlier last month in the journal Earth and Space Science.
The new findings could help scientists gain better insight into the workings of plate tectonics and volcanism.
“Our study definitely helped make progress in the global seamount catalog, but improvements in the data resolution can help us find more,” Gevorgian told Newsweek.
