Fire Under Arctic Ice: Volcanoes Have Been Blowing Their Tops In The Deep Ocean
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 22:14
in Earth & Climate
Researchers have uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep beneath the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean. Such violent eruptions of splintered, fragmented rock -- known as pyroclastic deposits -- were not thought possible at great ocean depths because of the intense weight and pressure of water and because of the composition of seafloor magma and rock. The evidence of violent eruptions on Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic defies assumptions about seafloor pressure and volcanism.