Three New Submarine Volcanoes Discovered in the Sicilian Channel

In the vast underwater world, a huge discovery has caught the attention of the scientific community: three large underwater volcanoes were recently detected in the Sicilian Channel. This exciting discovery is the result of an international scientific expedition led by the University of Malta and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics in Trieste, Italy. The importance of this discovery is based not only on its magnitude and geological significance, but also on the fundamental aspect it has in understanding our planet and its volcanic past.

The three new underwater volcanoes have been identified in the area between Mazara del Vallo and Sciacca in the Sicilian Channel. Each volcano is estimated to be at least 6 kilometers in diameter and rise more than 150 meters above the seafloor. This new discovery adds to the list of volcanic cones previously identified by the same institution in 2019.

The expedition took place aboard the German ship METEOR, a state-of-the-art research platform equipped with advanced sonar detection technologies. Researchers involved in the expedition explored still largely unknown areas of the Sicilian Channel, mapping the morphology of the seafloor. During the expedition, rock samples were collected from underwater volcanoes. These samples include lavas and pyroclastic deposits, and will undergo extensive analysis in the coming months. The goal is to obtain key information about the age of the volcanoes, as well as the chemical and physical characteristics of the magma that generated them.

In addition to the discovery of volcanoes, the expedition held another fascinating surprise: the discovery of a shipwreck. This wreck, 100 meters long and 17 meters wide, lies at a depth of 110 meters on the Nameless Bank, between the volcanic island of Linosa and Sicily.