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Davidson Seamount
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Davidson Seamount
Davidson Seamount is a seamount (underwater volcano) located off the coast of Central California, 80 mi (129 km) southwest of Monterey and 75 mi (121 km) west of San Simeon. At 26 mi (42 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide, it is one of the largest known seamounts in the world. From base to crest, the seamount is 7,480 ft (2,280 m) tall, yet its summit is still 4,101 ft (1,250 m) below the sea surface. The seamount is biologically diverse, with 237 species and 27 types of deep-sea coral having been identified.
Discovered during the mapping of California's coast in 1933, Davidson Seamount is named after geographer George Davidson of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Studied only sparsely for decades, NOAA expeditions to the seamount in 2002 and 2006 cast light upon its unique deep-sea coral ecosystem. Davidson Seamount is populated by a dense population of large, ancient corals, some over 100 years old. The data gathered during the studies led to the Davidson Seamount being added to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2008.
A seamount is an underwater volcano; Davidson rises 7,480 ft (2,280 m) above the surrounding ocean floor. Although there are over 30,000 seamounts in the Pacific Ocean alone, only about 0.1% of them have been explored. The aqueous environment of the seamount means that it behaves differently from volcanoes on land. Its surface is mostly blocky lava flows, with some pillow lava, more typical of a seamount, prevailing at its deeper flanks. The summit is composed of layered volcanic ash and pyroclastic material. These rocks indicate mildly explosive eruptions of gas-rich lava near the summit. The base is likely buried in a deep layers of muds.
At 26 mi (42 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide, Davidson Seamount would dominate the landscape similar to Mount Shasta. Put in perspective, the size of the seamount is enough to fill Monterey Bay from the Santa Cruz boardwalk to Monterey's Fishermen's Wharf.
Davidson Seamount is part of a group of seamounts off the continental margin, including Guide, Pioneer, Gumdrop, and Rodriguez seamounts, all located roughly between 37.5° and 34.0° latitude. This group is morphologically unique, yet very similar to one another. All the seamounts in the group are complex northeast-southwest trending structures, consisting of parallel ridges separated by sediment-filled troughs. The ridges constructed run parallel to an ancient spreading center which has since been replaced in its role by the San Andreas Fault system. They are unique in this origin, as they are formed from the remnants of an old ocean-ridge spreading center. A series of "knobs" are aligned with the ridges; however the distinctive summit crater, evident in many oceanic volcanoes, is absent. This lack of a collapse crater suggests that magma was never stored in a chamber within the structure, as with most other volcanoes.
Analysis of argon–argon dating studies indicate that Davidson formed between 9 and 15 million years ago, 5 to 12 million years after the formation of the overlaying oceanic crust.
Studies have indicated that a seamount functions as an "oasis of life," with a higher species count and more biodiversity than the surrounding seafloor. Although previous analysis has stressed the exceptionalism of the seamount habitat, recent biological analysis, much of it centered on Davidson Seamount, has indicated that this does not necessarily translate into a higher endemic percentage. However, it is believed that they provide a refuge for rare species that have difficulty surviving elsewhere.
There are reasons that seamounts are biologically important. They rise high in the water column, creating complex current patterns that support life on, around, and above the seamount. The surface of the seamount also provides a substrate upon which organisms can attach themselves and grow. This in turn supports the species that feed on them, in turn supporting the whole ecological food web. Scientists have found that seamounts often provide a habitat for endemic species that are not found anywhere else.
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Davidson Seamount
Davidson Seamount is a seamount (underwater volcano) located off the coast of Central California, 80 mi (129 km) southwest of Monterey and 75 mi (121 km) west of San Simeon. At 26 mi (42 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide, it is one of the largest known seamounts in the world. From base to crest, the seamount is 7,480 ft (2,280 m) tall, yet its summit is still 4,101 ft (1,250 m) below the sea surface. The seamount is biologically diverse, with 237 species and 27 types of deep-sea coral having been identified.
Discovered during the mapping of California's coast in 1933, Davidson Seamount is named after geographer George Davidson of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Studied only sparsely for decades, NOAA expeditions to the seamount in 2002 and 2006 cast light upon its unique deep-sea coral ecosystem. Davidson Seamount is populated by a dense population of large, ancient corals, some over 100 years old. The data gathered during the studies led to the Davidson Seamount being added to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2008.
A seamount is an underwater volcano; Davidson rises 7,480 ft (2,280 m) above the surrounding ocean floor. Although there are over 30,000 seamounts in the Pacific Ocean alone, only about 0.1% of them have been explored. The aqueous environment of the seamount means that it behaves differently from volcanoes on land. Its surface is mostly blocky lava flows, with some pillow lava, more typical of a seamount, prevailing at its deeper flanks. The summit is composed of layered volcanic ash and pyroclastic material. These rocks indicate mildly explosive eruptions of gas-rich lava near the summit. The base is likely buried in a deep layers of muds.
At 26 mi (42 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide, Davidson Seamount would dominate the landscape similar to Mount Shasta. Put in perspective, the size of the seamount is enough to fill Monterey Bay from the Santa Cruz boardwalk to Monterey's Fishermen's Wharf.
Davidson Seamount is part of a group of seamounts off the continental margin, including Guide, Pioneer, Gumdrop, and Rodriguez seamounts, all located roughly between 37.5° and 34.0° latitude. This group is morphologically unique, yet very similar to one another. All the seamounts in the group are complex northeast-southwest trending structures, consisting of parallel ridges separated by sediment-filled troughs. The ridges constructed run parallel to an ancient spreading center which has since been replaced in its role by the San Andreas Fault system. They are unique in this origin, as they are formed from the remnants of an old ocean-ridge spreading center. A series of "knobs" are aligned with the ridges; however the distinctive summit crater, evident in many oceanic volcanoes, is absent. This lack of a collapse crater suggests that magma was never stored in a chamber within the structure, as with most other volcanoes.
Analysis of argon–argon dating studies indicate that Davidson formed between 9 and 15 million years ago, 5 to 12 million years after the formation of the overlaying oceanic crust.
Studies have indicated that a seamount functions as an "oasis of life," with a higher species count and more biodiversity than the surrounding seafloor. Although previous analysis has stressed the exceptionalism of the seamount habitat, recent biological analysis, much of it centered on Davidson Seamount, has indicated that this does not necessarily translate into a higher endemic percentage. However, it is believed that they provide a refuge for rare species that have difficulty surviving elsewhere.
There are reasons that seamounts are biologically important. They rise high in the water column, creating complex current patterns that support life on, around, and above the seamount. The surface of the seamount also provides a substrate upon which organisms can attach themselves and grow. This in turn supports the species that feed on them, in turn supporting the whole ecological food web. Scientists have found that seamounts often provide a habitat for endemic species that are not found anywhere else.
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