Scientists in the Pacific Ocean found a path that looked like a well -preserved stone path below, and they named it the “Road to Atlantis.”
The path could be similar to the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz, or perhaps a secret path to the legendary lost city of Atlantis. But deep -sea researchers who have seen the surprising rock formation say it is actually an example of active ancient volcanic geology on the ocean floor near Hawaii.
The strange look, resembling a cobblestone road, was found on Liliʻuokalani Ridge in the U.S. Naval National Monument, commonly called Papahānaumokuakea or PMNM in other words, in the Pacific Ocean.
PMNM is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world (larger than all national parks in the United States combined), and only 3% of them have been explored by researchers.
The crew of the Expedition Ship Nautilus inspected the formation and described it as a “yellow brick road” and “road to Atlantis” in a video about the search.
A researcher can be heard on the radio saying, “The road to Atlantis. The yellow brick road, ”while another team member described it as“ weird ”and“ crazy. ”
“The road that looks like a‘ yellow brick road ’to the legendary city of Atlantis is really an example of active ancient volcanic geology,” the team said. “Our expedition team witnessed incredibly unique and fascinating geological formations while diving on Liliʻuokalani Ridge. Inside the Papahānaumokuakea monument, the National Marine Corps.
Nautilus ’team spent most of April studying the geology and biological systems of the submerged volcanic origin mountains.
At the top of Mount Nootka in the open sea, the team discovered a ‘dry lake bed’ formation, now described as a hyalocalist flow (a volcanic rock formed in high -energy eruptions where many pieces of rock reside. on the seafloor).
Unique 90-degree fractures are likely associated with heating and cooling from multiple explosions.
The team explained: “The team also took samples of a pumice stone that had an interesting almost spongy appearance, as well as basalt samples from various depths covered with ferromanganese shells ( iron and manganese) and saturated with oxygen.
The expedition ship is operated by the non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust, which publishes what its remote-controlled dive vehicles see in the depths.
The team said the main purpose of their recent discovery was to collect samples to determine the geological origin and age of the seamounts to better understand the composition of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.
They added that seamounts will also be explored for biodiversity, in hopes of finding communities rich in coral and sponges commonly found in these depths.
They continued, “Due to the likely Cretaceous age of the seamounts of Liliʻuokalani Ridge, relatively thick ferromanganese crust is expected to form on exposed rock surfaces, especially on sea shores where sedimentation is reduced.”
A spokesman for the Chef Expedition team said: “We have never seen this region before, and it helps researchers take a deeper look at life on and within the rocky slopes of this ancient deep mountain.”
Source: Daily Mail
Source: Arabic RT
