Jorge of Norway writes:
Researchers have found a 1,500 km volcanic mountain chain hidden off the coast of Svalbard, which could soon break the surface to form a new island chain.
Dag Rune Olsen, rector of the University of Bergen, where the researchers are based, told The Local that the findings were like a “moon landing in the deep sea.”
“We probably know even less about the very deep seas and oceans then we know about the moon,” he said. The range extends from Jan Mayen island in the Greenland Sea to the Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland. It comprises hundreds of volcanos, some just 20m below the surface.
The new discovery comprises hundreds more volcanoes, some just 20m below the surface.
…
The ridge was first glimpsed in 2008, but this is the first time detailed mapping has been done.
“We have found volcanoes at such a shallow level and they could break the surface at any time and form a new island group,” Pedersen told VG newspaper.
“We have long known that Iceland has both volcanic activity and hot springs, but we thought that we did not have anything like that in Norway. But we do, it was only under water,” he added.
http://www.thelocal.no/20130802/Volcanic-range-discovered-in-Norwegian-waters
Note: The Norwegian version of this text speaks about the activity of those volcanoes and 1200° C magma I don’t know why that information isn’t included in the English version.
Interesting article, however we don’t know jack about the moon compared to our knowledge about the oceans.
Ric Werme says:
August 2, 2013 at 6:42 pm
“One of the less detailed mapping techniques, perhaps the source of the Google maps images, is satellite sea-level topography. Given the rock is denser than water, the seafloor shows up as a inverted surface “reflection” that can be measured by satellites.”
Appreciate the link, however I’ve noted satellite photos of night falling on eastern Europe which included the mid-Atlantic ridge still sunlit and visable at depth. I assumed that was just a plain vanilla photograph. Without actual knowledge of that photo/survey method, I still see problems with the interpretation.
Oh, and Greg, are you gonna tell me that the galloping glaciers are based on ocean cycles?? I might have to argue with you.
@ur momisugly kuhnkat says: August 4, 2013 at 3:19 pm
They apparently galloped even faster in the 1930’s long before man was generating any significant amount of CO2: 1930s photos show Greenland glaciers retreating faster than today
They galloped a heck of a lot faster coming out of the last ice age, and I know it was all the SUV’s and other man made causes of CO2 increase that resulted in the end of the ice age, right?
Apparently Greenland’s glaciers regularly gallop about every 150 years. Think it was AGW 150 years ago too? http://www.livescience.com/28399-clouds-greenland-ice-melt.html
And, oops, maybe we don’t even have a good estimate on just how fast places like Greenland are even melting – at least it turns out that they were significantly overestimating the melt rate: Greenland ice melt overestimated due to satellite data algorithm issue
And gee, amazing, turns out confounding factors that weren’t considered are probably responsible for a good bit of the melting that is occurring, rather than global warming: Remember that ‘unprecedented’ Greenland ice sheet surface melt that was allegedly caused by global warming? Never mind
And to copy a post I did some time ago: If Greenland is loosing all this ice over the past 30+ years, I’d dearly love to know how they explain the Glacier Girl.
For those here who might be unfamiliar, it’s easy to find the story online, and it’s truly fascinating. Essentially back during WWII, a small squadron of fighter planes had to ditch on Greenland. On the glaciers. About 50 years later, they went back and dug down through about 268 feet of ice to get to one of the P-38 fighters. They took her apart down in the hole, lifted her out piece by piece, Then they moved her to a more conducive location, put her back together and flew her.
Soooooo, to the researchers and scientists who think there’s been so much global warming causing huge ice melts…. just how the heck did a plane on the surface wind up buried under 268 ft. of snow and ice accumulated over those 50 years, during which so much of this global warming occurred????!!
Greg,
Do you actually understand the difference between what was considered normal glacier movement and what the researchers call the galloping glaciers??
Can surface (and atmospheric) temperatures trigger something from below the ground? I know that, where I live (California), we hear all the time about ‘earthquake weather’, and how a particular type of weather could trigger an earthquake. I have no idea if this has any basis in science or even how it could possibly be true, but just thought I’d throw it here and see if I can get some clarification. If this is a stupid question (and it even sounds pretty stupid to me), please feel free not to answer. Thanks much.