A trio of scientists fl oats on the Pacifi c Ocean. T ey are inside a small submersible 563 kilometers off the coast of Costa Rica. T e men are heading to an underwater mountain called Las Gemelas. T e small sub is called the DeepSee. T e
scientists peer out of the sub’s clear dome. It’s like being inside a giant eyeball. When the sub drops beneath the surface,
tiny bubbles stream up all around it. T e water turns from bright turquoise to dark blue. A manta ray passes by. It looks like a bat gliding through the water. Las Gemelas looms below. Like most
seamounts, this underwater mountain is well below the ocean’s surface. At 213 meters deep, there is little light to see by. T e sub’s bright lights shine on a carpet of corals, sea fans, and sponges. A pair of lasers creates a grid that helps
the scientists measure the things they see. T e scientists set the sub down inside a large crater on top of the mountain. T ey turn off the sub’s lights and sit in darkness. T e men only have minutes to take
readings and look around. T en they’re forced to the surface.
This seamount teems with life such as coral and fi sh.
One of the men releases water from
the bottom of the sub. T is water creates bubbles that race toward the surface. As the sub rises, the bubbles bump into tiny creatures called plankton. T e plankton respond by lighting up. T ey look like sparks from a campfi re. It’s a beautiful end to a fantastic dive.
Volcanic Peaks
Seamounts are found in all the world’s oceans. Most of them are in the Pacifi c. To be a seamount, the land must rise at least 1,000 meters above the seafl oor. Some are more than 4,000 meters tall. Seamounts are oſt en the remains of old
volcanoes. T ey’re found near “hotspots” in the oceanic crust. Beneath these spots, melted rock called magma bubbles. T e Emperor Seamount chain is part of
the Hawaiian Islands. T is chain is made up of more than 80 undersea volcanoes. It stretches more than 5,800 kilometers. T e Atlantic Ocean has a chain of seamounts, too. T e New England Seamount chain stretches for 1,000 kilometers and contains more than 20 seamounts.
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