Three major earthquakes that occurred in the south Philippines on July 24 were due to the eruption of Kawio Barat, a big underwater volcano rising 10,000 feet from 18,000 feet of water between Indonesia and the south Philippines, said an expert, whose analysis was challenged by a local scientist. Three major undersea earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.8 and 7.1 on the Richter scale, occurred in the Moro Gulf off Mindanao on July 24, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) confirmed, adding the undersea quakes did not damage land areas. Read more
View images of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the INDEX 2010 Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region. Known as "America's ship for ocean exploration", the Okeanos Explorer, in partnership with NOAAs Office of Ocean Exploration (OER), will travel around the globe to map and characterise largely unknown areas of the ocean. Read more
A huge undersea volcano has been found off the coast of Indonesian by a US-Indonesia joint expedition. The volcano, which is 3000 metres above the sea floor but remains below sea level, was found off the island of Sulawesi and has been named Kawio Barat. Read more
In the first week of a joint Indonesia - U.S. exploration of the deep ocean north of Sulawesi, Indonesia, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer's built-in multibeam sonar mapped a huge undersea volcano while cameras on the ship's remotely-operated vehicle took high-definition images of the feature called Kawio Barat, referring to the ocean area west of Kawio Islands. Scientists chose Kawio Barat as the first target for the expedition based on satellite information and data collected by a joint Indonesian-Australian team in 2004. The immense underwater feature served as an ideal initial target to calibrate onboard tools and technologies being used on the ships maiden voyage. Expedition scientists hope the maps and video produced from the expedition will pave the way for other researchers to follow up on their preliminary findings. Read more
Scientists on a deep-sea expedition off the coast of Indonesia have discovered an underwater volcano that towers 3,000 metres above the ocean floor, yet remains far from sight beneath the water's surface. Read more
Indonesian and US scientists have began joint deep-sea explorations in the Sangihe-Talaud Islands of North Sulawesi today to study submarine volcanoes and their surrounding environments. An Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry official and coordinator of the Indonesian scientists, Sugiarta Wirasantosa, on Wednesday said the explorations were necessary because Indonesian waters largely remained a mystery to scientists. Read more
Scientists on a deep-sea expedition off Indonesia have discovered a towering volcano: It rises 3,000 metres from the ocean floor, yet remains far from sight at the water's surface. U.S. and Indonesian researchers, using a powerful sonar system and a robotic vehicle with high-definition video, are exploring terrain off Sulawesi island in hopes of getting a glimpse into complex and little-known marine ecosystems. Read more