Volcanoes in Arctic Ocean
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Underwater volcanic
activity in the Arctic Ocean |
"The Gakkel ridge is a gigantic volcanic mountain chain stretching beneath the Arctic Ocean. With its deep valleys 5,500 meters beneath the sea surface and its 5,000 meter- high summits, Gakkel ridge is far mightier than the Alps." Two research icebreakers, the "USCGC Healy" from USA and the German "PFS Polarstern," recently joined forces in the international expedition AMORE (Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition). In attendance were scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and other international institutions. The scientists had expected that the Gakkel ridge would exhibit "anemic" magmatism. Instead, they found "surprisingly strong magmatic activity in the West and the East of the ridge and one of the strongest hydrothermal activities ever seen at mid-ocean ridges." "The Gakkel ridge extends about 1800 kilometers beneath the Arctic Ocean from north of Greenland to Siberia, and is the northernmost portion of the mid-ocean ridge system."To their surprise, the researchers found high levels of
volcanic activity. Indeed, magmatism was "dramatically" higher than
expected. No wonder the ice is melting! See http://www.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressR
eleases/2003/pressRelease20030718/index.html
See
also It's not global warming, it's ocean warming |
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