PANAJI
From Goa, a team of scientists is preparing to reach into the largely unexplored depths of the Andaman Sea, investigating ancient underwater volcanoes whose peaks rise from the seabed as seamounts, some bearing enormous craters.
The CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, has joined hands with the Geological Survey of India for a joint remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition to study these cratered seamounts and the mineralisation associated with submarine volcanic activity.
The collaboration follows an MoU signed between GSI Deputy Director General and Head of the Marine & Coastal Survey Division Dr N M Shareef and CSIR-NIO Director Prof Sunil Kumar Singh, in the presence of senior officials, last month.
Information available with The Goan reveals that the expedition will use an ROV -- an unmanned, remotely controlled underwater vehicle -- to examine the seabed and volcanic structures that are difficult to access directly. Scientists will study the seamounts, their craters and the surrounding seabed, with a particular focus on marine hydrothermal mineralisation. “These cratered seamounts are ancient underwater volcanic mountains marked by circular or elliptical depressions, craters or calderas at their summits. Such formations can preserve clues to volcanic activity, including collapse or explosive processes, and offer scientists a window into the geological evolution and volcanic history of the seabed,” it said. The expedition also has a biological dimension, as seamounts can support distinctive deep-sea ecosystems and serve as biodiversity hotspots. “The Andaman Sea forms part of the broader Burmese-Andaman-Western Sunda tectonic system, created primarily by the oblique subduction of the Indian-Australian plate beneath the Burma microplate and Sunda Plate. The system stretches from Myanmar through the Andaman Sea and Andaman-Nicobar region towards northern Sumatra and the Indonesian volcanic arc,” it explained. Further information states that the Andaman Sea is an actively developing back-arc basin, with its geological evolution marked by back-arc spreading, strike-slip faulting, earthquakes and submarine volcanism. The region also includes Barren Island, an active volcano that has witnessed historic and recent eruptions, and Narcondam, a volcanic island generally regarded as dormant or inactive. “Marine geophysical studies mapped numerous submarine volcanic edifices and traced a volcanic trend from south of Sumatra northwards towards the Barren Island and Narcondam sector. The number of mapped submarine volcanoes varies with the survey area and methodology, with one study reporting 23 and a later regional analysis identifying 33,” the information reveals.
