Scientists warn of catastrophic explosion under the ocean after major discovery

Scientists have discovered 73 new underwater volcanoes with a technology used to detect impact craters on Mars. The researchers were mapping the ocean floor for volcanic calderas when they came across them. Calderas are formed when a volcano collapses after emptying its magma, leaving behind depressions on the ocean floor. This would mean that they are extinct and harmless. However, scientists have warned that many of these calderas mark volcanic systems which could explode again in the future. Such an eruption would come with catastrophic consequences. The findings were published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment.

Initially, 87,435 possible structures were flagged as being possible volcanic craters. Later analysis reduced this number to 78. Since five of those had already been confirmed, the final figure stood at 73. Eight of them are on underwater mountain ranges, nine in volcanic arcs, while 61 were found in the middle of tectonic plates.

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Volcanic eruptions under the ocean

Underwater volcanoes are one of the least understood natural creations, with only 30 having been documented till now. If the latest findings are confirmed, it would mark a major step in learning more about the seafloor. Most of Earth's volcanic activity occurs under the sea. Tectonic movement causes the plates of the Earth's crust to slide or collide, triggering magma to move upwards. It typically ends up forming new rock. But in some cases, the lava piles up to form volcanoes. An eruption causes them to collapse, forming the caldera.

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But a one-time eruption is not the rule, as they can explode again. One example is the Tonga volcano that did not erupt for years and shocked everyone when it did. The explosion was extremely intense and hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. The shockwaves from it were even recorded in space. The resulting tsunami was up to 148 feet tall, with the waves reaching Peru and Fiji, where two and one people died, respectively.

The team doesn't have enough data to say for sure which of these volcanoes could erupt within our lifetime. However, a group of seven calderas have been described as posing the highest potential risk, which require more investigation.