SCIENCEDiscovery OF THE MONTH Science • SCIENCE OF THE MONTH Discovery Science, Volume 6, Number 16, October 2013

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ISSN 2278 Scientists discovered World’s largest single

Deepa V

*Correspondence to: E-mail: [email protected]

Received 14 September; accepted 22 September; published online 01 October; printed 16 October 2013

To Cite This Article Deepa V. Scientists discovered World’s largest single volcano. Discovery Science, 2013, 6(16), 7

The largest volcano on is hidden beneath the western Pacific Ocean and covers an area the size of New Mexico. The vast lump of lava is called the Tamu Massif and lies about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) east of Japan and is comparable, though somewhat less voluminous, than the enormous volcano on . New seismic reflection data showing the structures of the lava flows inside Tamu Massif, along with and specimens from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program now suggest the entire, very low-relief, 120,000 square-mile (311,000 square kilometer) features erupted from a single source. The seismic data shows that some of the layers of lava are 75 feet (23 meters) thick, spread out over huge distances. on the Big Island of Hawaii is just two percent of the area of Tamu Massif. Tamu Massif was a single volcano, or a composite of many eruption points was unclear. By integrating several sources of evidence, including core samples and data collected on board the JOIDES Resolution research ship, the authors have confirmed that the mass of that constitutes Tamu Massif did indeed erupt from a single source near the center. It is the biggest single ever discovered on Earth. It stands out among underwater volcanoes not just for its size, but also its shape. It is low and broad, meaning that the erupted lava flows must have traveled long distances compared to most other volcanoes on Earth. The seafloor is dotted with thousands of underwater volcanoes, or , most of which are small and steep compared to the low, broad expanse of Tamu Massif. By comparison, Hawaii's Mauna Loa the largest active volcano on Earth is approximately 2,000 square miles, or roughly 2 percent the size of Tamu Massif. According to Sager, Tamu Massif is believed to be about 145 million years old, and it became inactive within a few million years after it was formed. Its top lies about 6,500 feet below the ocean surface, while much of its base is believed to be in waters that are almost four miles deep.

REFERENCE 1. University of Houston. Scientists confirm existence of largest single volcano on earth. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 9, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130905142817.htm 2. William W. Sager, Jinchang Zhang, Jun Korenaga, Takashi Sano, Anthony A. P. Koppers, Mike Widdowson, John J. Mahoney. An immense shield volcano within the oceanic plateau, northwest Pacific Ocean. Nature Geoscience, 2013, DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1934

7 Page Deepa V, Scientists discovered World’s largest single volcano, Discovery Science, 2013, 6(16), 7, www.discovery.org.in www.discovery.org.in/ds.htm © 2013 Discovery Publication. All Rights Reserved