grand monster volcano found near Japan largest in Solar System

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Existence of Earth’s monster volcano confirmed; one of the biggest in Solar System
Tamu Massif is also unusual because of its shape.

By Max Sonnenberg, The Space Reporter
Friday, September 06, 2013






A volcano expert at the University of Houston has confirmed*the existence of the single largest volcano on Earth. UH professor William Sager, a volcano enthusiast who has been analyzing this particular volcano for 20 years, believe that it is also one of the largest in the Solar System. For comparison, the volcano covers an area roughly the same size as the state of New Mexico.

The volcano, known as Tamu Massif, resides approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan. It is the largest feature of Shatsky Rise, an underwater mountain range formed 130 to 145 million years ago by the eruption of several underwater volcanoes. This study helped conclude the longstanding debate over the structure of Tamu Massif. Prior to this research, scientists weren’t clear on whether Tamu Massif was a single volcano, or a combination of several eruption points.

To end this longstanding debate, scientists combined several sources of evidence, including core sample and data collected by scientists on board the JOIDES Resolution research ship. The data revealed that the mass of basalt that comprises Tamu Massif did truly erupt from a single source near the center.

“Tamu Massif is the biggest single shield volcano ever discovered on Earth,” Sager said. “There may be larger volcanoes, because there are bigger igneous features out there such as the Ontong Java Plateau, but we don’t know if these features are one volcano or complexes of volcanoes.”

In addition to its size, Tamu Massif is also unusual because of its shape. According to Sager, its low and broad shape suggests that that the erupted lava flows must have covered great distances compared to most other volcanoes on Earth. Furthermore, the seafloor has thousands of underwater volcanoes, the majority of which are small and steep compared to Tamu Massif.

“It’s not high, but very wide, so the flank slopes are very gradual,” Sager posited. “In fact, if you were standing on its flank, you would have trouble telling which way is downhill. We know that it is a single immense volcano constructed from massive lava flows that emanated from the center of the volcano to form a broad, shield-like shape. Before now, we didn’t know this because oceanic plateaus are huge features hidden beneath the sea. They have found a good place to hide.”

According to Sager, Tamu Massif is also one of the biggest volcanoes in the Solar System. However, scientists know that Mars’ Olympus Mons is approximately 25 percent larger by volume than Tamu Massif.

Sager and his colleagues analyzed two sources of evidence to prove the existence of Tamu Massif: (1) core samples collected on Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 324 in 2009, and (2) seismic reflection data gathered on two different trips of the R/V Marcus G. Langseth in 2010 and 2012. The core samples revealed that thick lava flows define this volcano, while the seismic reflection data demonstrated that the lava flows started from the volcano’s summit and traveled hundreds of miles downhill into the adjacent basins.

“It’s shape is different from any other sub-marine volcano found on Earth, and it’s very possible it can give us some clues about how massive volcanoes can form,” Sager said. “An immense amount of magma came from the center, and this magma had to have come from the Earth’s mantle. So this is important information for geologists trying to understand how the Earth’s interior works.”

The results are revealed in the journal*Nature Geoscience.


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