Undersea mountains are key hubs for sharks https://phys.org/news/2025-02-undersea-mountains-key-hubs-sharks.html paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003016

"#Zooplankton were twice as common at shallow #seamounts than in the open ocean, while #shark biomass was 41 times higher... #FilterFeeders may benefit from prey being blown over the peak, and the peak may also stop prey species from retreating into deeper water... Also, some predators appear to use seamounts as hubs to gather, socialize, mate or rest"

#Sharks #Animals #Ecology #Plankton

Seamounts have been likened to ‘oases’ of life in the deserts of the open ocean. This integrated study of tropical #seamounts suggests that high faunal biomass is sustained by exogenous energy inputs and that they act as aggregating 'hubs' for marine top #predators #plosbiology https://plos.io/4hqrJoY

Satellites Reveal Stunningly Detailed Maps Of Earth's Seafloors
--
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/rivers-oceans/satellites-reveal-stunningly-detailed-maps-of-earths-seafloors <-- shared technical / media article
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https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov/ <-- SWOT home page
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https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads4472 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #satellite #SWOT #NASA #marine #global #tectonics #geology #underwater #structuralgeology #currents #ocean #oceansurface #gravity #hills #volcanoes #tectonicplates #abyssal #ridges #geology #model #seamounts #continentalmargins #oceancurrents #nutrienttransport #seawater #geologichistory #altimetry #gravimetry #VGG #topography #radaraltimetry #global #seafloor #marine

Now we can see the damage caused by #BottomTrawling on #seamounts

This footage is from the Emperor Seamounts in the North Pacific #ocean

The difference is stark between trawled and pristine sites.

In the South Pacific, New Zealand remains the only country still trawling seamounts.

Global ocean sanctuaries would protect these biodiverse areas on the high seas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-865DRqn5Ro

#ProtectSeamounts
#BanBottomTrawling

#Seamounts are #OceanLifelines – they provide many benefits from climate regulation to nutrient cycling, and shelter for a variety of marine life.

But these ecosystems are under threat from human activity, including bottom trawling.

⌛️It’s time for States to reaffirm and uphold their United Nations General Assembly #UNGA commitments to #ProtectSeamounts from
destructive fishing practices and recognize the value of deep sea ecosystems and the role they
play in ocean health.

#BanBottomTrawling

Seamounts are biodiversity hotspots 🐋🐙

Underwater mountains are home to countless species that forage, hunt and breed on these ecosystems.

Fewer than 1% of #seamounts have been explored and studied, and yet explorations in the deep consistently return with the discovery of hundreds of species believed to be new to science.

Imagine all there is to discover on these #OceanLifeLines

https://deep-sea-conservation.org/solutions/protect-seamounts/

#ProtectSeamounts #ocean

Sealife on the Emperor Seamounts

It's rare and beautiful to get some pictures from these depths, and proof these environments need to be protected.

Also great for some #SlowTV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjPo3wVToho

#EmperorSeamounts #Seamounts #ocean #oceans #ProtectTheOcean #nature #greenpeace

I've set up hotspots for seamounts near each of the South Atlantic islands I review. I've written about it here:

https://www.burntfen.com/2024-07-05/south-atlantic-seamount-hotspots-on-ebird

#ebird #hotspots #seamounts #pelagic #birding #birds

Expedition searching for #NewSpecies in #Arctic Ocean https://geographical.co.uk/news/expedition-searching-for-new-species-in-arctic-ocean

"On board the expeditions boat, the #RVKronprinsHaakon #ResearchVessel, is a multi-disciplinary team of 36 #scientists from 15 universities and institutes whose goal is to explore and chart a series of #hydrothermal vent fields, #CarbonSeeps, #seamounts and #DeepSea ridges... With only 1,100 species currently described from the #ArcticOcean, the team is hopeful of new discoveries"

Rare #Shark Spotted for the First Time in #Panama’s Eastern Pacific https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-tropical-research-institute/2024/03/09/rare-shark-spotted-for-the-first-time-in-panamas-eastern-pacific/

First evidence of prickly shark, Echinorhinus cookei Pietschmann 1928, aggregation on seamounts in the eastern #Pacific, Panama https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfb.15720

"The elusive #PricklyShark was observed during a #submarine expedition to the depths of the #CordilleraDeCoiba #seamounts, a #biodiversity hotspot and marine protected area."

WRITER FUEL: Researchers found and mapped four giant seamounts in the deep sea off the coast of Peru and Chile. The tallest of these new peaks rises around 1.5 miles above the seafloor.

https://www.limfic.com/2024/02/22/writer-fuel-scientists-discover-four-guant-seamounts-thanks-to-gravitational-anomalies/

#LimFic #LiminalFiction #WriterFuel #Writers #Authors #WritersofMastodon #StoryIdeas #Ocean #Seamounts #Geology

Underwater Mountains Harbor Abundant Life Off Chile’s Coast
https://schmidtocean.org/underwater-mountains-harbor-abundant-life/

"#scientists may have discovered more than 100 #NewSpecies living on #seamounts off the coast of #Chile. The recent #SchmidtOceanInstitute expedition resulted in identifying #DeepSea #corals, glass #sponges, #SeaUrchins, #amphipods, squat #lobsters, and other species likely #NewToScience."

Four New #Seamounts Discovered in the High Seas
https://schmidtocean.org/four-new-seamounts-discovered-in-the-high-seas/

"The crew of #SchmidtOceanInstitute’s research vessel #Falkor (too) discovered four underwater mountains — the tallest of which is over 1.5 miles high — on a January transit from #CostaRica to #Chile... The seamounts were found as the technicians plotted a course to examine gravity anomalies during the transit... Underwater mountains and trenches often host #DeepSea #CoralReefs, #sponges, & #anemones"

We need to know more about inner space--the oceans of Earth. And not mess them up, because they are probably what's protecting us from our own follies. #Seamounts #oceans

https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-baffled-mountains-ocean

Study shows that Rio Grande Rise was once a giant mineral-rich tropical island near Brazil
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-rio-grande-giant-mineral-rich.html

Red clays indicate sub-aerial exposure of the #RioGrandeRise during the #Eocene volcanic episode https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46273-y

"#RioGrande Rise, a possibly continental basaltic plateau and chain of #seamounts now #submerged in the South #Atlantic #Ocean some 1,200 km from the coast of #Brazil, was once a giant tropical island, rich in #minerals and covered with vegetation."

Microbial Magic in the Deep
https://schmidtocean.org/cruise-log-post/microbial-magic-in-the-deep/

"On this cruise... we aim to identify key ecosystem services provided by #microbial life in #seamounts, including how fluid-rock-microbial processes influence #animals of the #DeepSea... in June we deployed microbial colonization experiments at sites of fluid venting... Recovery of these on-going #seafloor experiments, as well as collecting the nearby fluids and animals is a major objective of our second visit to the Costa Rican seamounts"

Massive New #Seamount Discovered in International Waters Off #Guatemala
https://schmidtocean.org/massive-new-seamount-off-guatemala/

"The 1,600-meter seamount covers 14 square kilometers and sits 2,400 meters below sea level... This marks the ninth #seafloor #discovery since the #ResearchVessel #Falkor (too), was launched in March... #Seamounts are #biodiversity hotspots, providing surfaces for #DeepSea #corals, #sponges, and a host of #invertebrates... There are more than 100,000 #unexplored seamounts taller than 1,000 meters."

Scientists on a 30-day expedition off the coast of Ecuador have mapped two coral reefs and two seamounts more than 1,000 feet beneath the ocean surface... #CoralReefs #corals #GalapagosIslands #biodiversity #oceans #MarineBiodiversity #seamounts #marinescience https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/rivers-oceans/pristine-coral-reefs-discovered-near-galapagos-islands-are-thousands-of-years-old-and-teeming-with-life

#Scientists discover additional healthy #DeepSea #CoralReefs and new #seamounts in the #Galápagos https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-additional-healthy-deep-sea-coral.html

"The larger of the #reefs spans over 800 meters in length. The second measures 250 meters in length. They exhibit a rich diversity of stony #coral species, suggesting that they have likely been forming and. supporting marine biodiversity for thousands of years. This discovery follows the April 2023 finding of the first deep coral reefs in the #GalápagosMarineReserve"

Scientists Discover Healthy #DeepSea #Coral Reef and New #Seamounts in the Galápagos https://schmidtocean.org/healthy-deep-sea-coral-reef-and-new-seamounts-in-the-galapagos/

"#Scientists examining underwater cliff ecosystems onboard #ResearchVessel #Falkor (too) using #ROV #SuBastian, have discovered 2 pristine #CoralReefs in the waters surrounding the #Galápagos. These newly identified #ColdWaterReefs are situated at depths ranging from 370 to 420 meters. The discovery expands our understanding of #DeepReefs within the #GalápagosIslandsMarineReserve"