Researchers from Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have discovered a previously unknown undersea volcano that look like the 'Eye of Sauron' from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The researchers, who were aboard the ocean research vessel RV Investigator, used multibeam sonar to map the sea bed 280 km (174 miles) southeast of Christmas Island.
From Tim O'Hara and the research team's post at The Conversation:
Previously unknown and unimagined, this volcano emerged from our screens as a giant oval-shaped depression called a caldera, 6.2km by 4.8km across. It is surrounded by a 300m-high rim (resembling Sauron’s eyelids), and has a 300 m high cone-shaped peak at its the centre (the “pupil”).
...Our volcanic “eye” was not alone. Further mapping to the south revealed a smaller sea mountain covered in numerous volcanic cones, and further still to the south was a larger, flat-topped seamount. Following our Lord of the Rings theme, we have nicknamed them Barad-dûr (“Dark Fortress”) and Ered Lithui (“Ash Mountains”), respectively.
Image: Phil Vandenbossche & Nelson Kuna/CSIRO
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