seamount Archives

Credit: The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census/©JAMSTEC

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Japan’s Deep Ocean Reveals Dozens of New Species from Landmark 2025 Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census – JAMSTEC Expedition

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

Japan has led a major international effort to explore and document new life in the deep ocean. Following the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census Expedition in June 2025, partnering with the […]

The new bathymetric map of the volcanic chain south-southeast of Rarotonga Note the data is shown here before processing, which will improve the quality further. -- Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water Planet Surveys: Discovering Underwater Volcanoes

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2025March 30, 2025

The Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA), in collaboration with other partners such as the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), University of California Santa Barbara, and Kiva Marine, recently […]

Oceanographic Research Vessel Falkor (too) in the South Pacific, sailing above the Nazca Ridge, an underwater seamount chain off the coast of Chile. Credit: Misha Vallejo Prut / Schmidt Ocean Institute

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean World Exploration: A New Seamount And Previously Unknown Species Discovered

by Keith CowingAugust 30, 2024August 29, 2024

A team of oceanographers led by Schmidt Ocean Institute have discovered and mapped a new seamount on the Nazca Ridge in international waters, 900 miles off the coast of Chile. […]

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Hydrothermal Vents On The Seafloors Of Ocean Worlds Could Support Life

by Keith CowingJune 25, 2024June 25, 2024

We’ve all seen the surreal footage in nature documentaries showing hydrothermal vents on the frigid ocean floor—bellowing black plumes of super-hot water—and the life forms that cling to them. Now, […]

The largest of the four seamounts recently discovered by Schmidt Ocean Institute experts is 2,681 meters tall, covers 450 square kilometers, and sits 1,150 meters below the surface. It was discovered during a mapping transit from Costa Rica to Chile in January 2024. -- Schmidt Ocean Institute

Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water World Exploration: Four New Seamounts Discovered On Earth

by Keith CowingJune 1, 2024June 1, 2024

The crew of Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) discovered four underwater mountains — the tallest of which is over 1.5 miles high — on a January transit from […]

An octopus documented during Dive 674, an exploration transect on the southeastern flank of an unexplored and unnamed seamount located within the national jurisdiction of Chile, east of Motu Motiro Hiva, an uninhabited island along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. The dive started at ~800 m depth and traveled upslope to ~270 m. This island is located near the western-central extent of the Salas y Gómez Ridge. CREDIT ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute

Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Salas y Gómez Ridge Seamount Away Team Expedition Discovers 50 New Life Forms

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2024

International team co-led by a BSC researcher discovers more than 50 new deep-sea species in one of the most unexplored areas of the planet.

Amukta Canyon in the Bering Sea as mapped by the Saildrone Surveyor during the Aleutians Uncrewed Ocean Exploration expedition. Image courtesy of Saildrone.

Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Saildrone Surveyor Away Team Completes Uncrewed Alaska Ocean Mapping Mission

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2023May 19, 2023

Editor’s note: As we plan to use robotic probes to explore worlds in our solar system with oceans, missions that explore Earth’s oceans can serve as important pathfinders.