Detection of asphalt volcanic eruptions

Volcanoes often spray lava, but recently US scientists found 7 volcanoes that used to spray asphalt under the Pacific Ocean.

Photo of asphalt volcanic eruptions at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.Each color in the image represents a height.Photo: Newscientist.

New Scientist said that scientists from the University of California, USA saw the above volcanoes while surveying the seabed area near the coast of Santa Barbara in California state. All volcanoes are very small and are made of asphalt. The largest one is only about 20 meters higher than the continental shelf. The methane continues to rise from some volcanoes.

David Valentine, the leader of the research team, said this was the first time the asphalt volcanic eruption was found in California waters. He said they formed during the process of sticky hydrocarbons from the continental shelf from about 40,000 years ago.

According to Valentine, the huge amount of methane produced by the 7 volcanoes has caused serious consequences for the region's ecosystem. Methane can attract bacteria that can turn methane into energy. The presence of these bacteria causes oxygen to exhaust, pushing many species of animals and plants to a catastrophic extinction. The analysis of sediment layers shows an area of ​​about 600 square kilometers around volcanoes that once died in the region about 40,000 years ago.