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Sydney Morning Herald: While looking for larval lobsters, marine biologists on board Australia’s new research vessel, Investigator, discovered four extinct volcanoes on the ocean floor. The discovery came as a surprise to the researchers, according to oceanographer Moninya Roughan, because the ship, whose sonar routinely maps the sea floor, was on its way back to port in Sydney and just happened to pass over them. The giant calderas, which were found 250 km off the Australian coast, hadn’t been discovered until now because of their extreme depth—they lie some 5 km below the ocean’s surface. The Australian government has funded Investigator to run just six months each year, but researchers say that new discoveries such as the volcanoes may prompt the government to fund it to run all year long.
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Australian research vessel spots four undersea volcanoes Free
15 July 2015