A volcano the size of New Mexico or the British Isles has been identified under the Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) east of Japan, making it the biggest volcano on Earth and one of the biggest in the solar system.
Called Tamu Massif, the giant shield volcano had been thought to be a composite of smaller structures, but now scientists say they must rethink long-held beliefs about marine geology.
This finding goes against what we thought, because we found that it’s one huge volcano,
said William Sager, a geology professor at the University of Houston in Texas. Sager is lead author in a study about the find that was published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience.
It is in the same league as Olympus Mons on Mars, which had been considered to be the largest volcano in the solar system,
Sager told National Geographic — via redwolf.newsvine.com
RSS – Posts