Orca Seamount
| Orca Seamount | |
|---|---|
King George Island, Antarctica | |
| Coordinates | 62°26′00″S 58°24′00″W / 62.433334°S 58.400002°W |
| Geology | |
| Type | Underwater volcano (Seamount) |
Orca Seamount is a
King George Island in Antarctica, in the Bransfield Strait. While it is inactive,[citation needed] last volcanic activity at Orca Seamount is judged to have occurred in the recent past as there are temperature anomalies in the seawater around the seamount.[1] Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms have been found at the seamount.[1]
The crater rim is about 3 km wide and about 500 m above the ocean floor.[2]
The seamount was first named by Professor O. González-Ferrán of Chile in 1987, after the
ACUF 263) was named for Dr. Thomas Viehoff, a remote sensing specialist in marine sciences. Name proposed by Dr. G.B. Udintsev, Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry (VIG).[6]
Geology
The submarine volcano is a Pleistocene-Recent shield volcano within the Bransfield Basin. The volcano has a base diameter of 20 km, and a height of 1000 m.[7] Samples obtained from Orca seamount were identified as basalt and basaltic andesites, suggesting the existence of more differentiated products, such as dacites or rhyolites.[8]
The area presents geodynamic extension conditions as a consequence of a complex interaction of the Scotia, Antarctic and ancient Phoenix tectonic plates.[9]
Seismic swarm of 2020-2021
In August 2020, the largest
earthquakes
were detected in just a few months, with earthquakes up to magnitude 6.0.
The swarm was located off King George Island, just a few kilometers from the Orca Seamount, which was thought to be extinct.
Some studies indicate that the earthquakes were produced by magmatic intrusion, although there is no precise evidence that the volcano has erupted due to low instrumentation in the area.[11]
References
- ^ .
- ^ Hatzky, Jörn (2005): The Orca Seamount Region, Antarctica (Sect. 5.5.2). In: Peter C. Wille (ed.), Sound Images of the Ocean in Research and Monitoring, Springer-Verlag Berlin.
- ^ "Name Details – Orca Seamount". Catalogue of Antarctic Names. Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- GEBCO Sub-Committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN). January 2010. p. 332. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- ^ Vulcano bransfield-strait hg.png
- ^ "Orca Seamount". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
- ISBN 9780521372664.
- ^ "CHILE DESTACA ESTUDIOS REALIZADOS POR INGEMMET EN EL MONTE ORCA Y REFIERE ACTIVIDAD EN VOLCÁN SUBMARINO DE LA ANTÁRTIDA". www.gob.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- ^ Peña, Juan Patricio (2020-09-25). "Orca, el monte submarino considerado un centro volcánico activo en la zona de los sismos en la Antártica". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- S2CID 245450444.
- ^ S2CID 248071330.
