Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Oceanographers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute in California recently mapped a massive underwater mountain in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,448 km off the coast of Chile. The seamount rises 3,109 meters from the ocean floor, nearly four times the height of the Burj Khalifa and taller than Mount Olympus in Greece.
The discovery was made during a 28-day expedition aboard the research vessel R/V Falkor (too). Using sonar technology, scientists mapped the underwater mountain by sending sound waves from the ship to the seafloor and measuring their return time, providing a detailed seabed map.
Researchers explored the seamount’s ridges and found a rich marine ecosystem, including sponge gardens, ancient corals, and rare marine species. Among these was a ghostly white octopus, nicknamed “Casper,” and a rare Bathyphysa siphonophore, known for its string-like appearance.
The team recorded the first-ever footage of a live Promachoteuthis squid, a species previously only known from collected specimens. These deep-sea creatures add to the growing catalog of marine biodiversity in the region.
Credit : Schmidt Ocean Institute
With only 26% of the seafloor mapped at this level of detail, the discovery highlights the vastness of unexplored underwater terrain. Oceanographers estimate that there are over 100,000 seamounts around the world, providing crucial habitats for diverse marine life.
This was the third Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition to the Nazca Ridge, and the team mapped 25 seamounts during their expeditions. The region is under consideration to become the world’s first high seas marine protected area under a new UN treaty adopted in 2023.
Across these expeditions, over 150 previously unknown species have been identified, with an additional 20 potential new species discovered during the latest trip. These findings will contribute to the Ocean Census initiative, which aims to catalogue 100,000 unknown marine species in the coming decade.