Scientists set out on a journey to uncover the secrets of earthquakes

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CSIRO

RV Tangaroa on its way to collect 27 deep-water sensors in the Southern Ocean

An ongoing mission to collect scientific sensors from the bottom of the Southern Ocean.

They have collected information that can explain the cause of underwater earthquakes and tsunamis.

The sea floor between New Zealand and Antarctica is recording some of the deadliest earthquakes on Earth, but scientists don’t know why.

Professor Hrvoje Tkalić of the Australian National University said: “This is really an unexplored part of our planet. I get chills just to look at the new signs this work has produced.”

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Sensors were put in place in October 2020 to point to the Earth’s core and have since been collecting data on intense underwater earthquakes.

Scientists hope that data from the remote and deep Macquarie Ridge, which lies about 5.5 kilometers underwater, will help explain why parts of Earth’s crust – known as tectonic plates – begin to smash into each other.

“So far we have maps of the surfaces of some other planets but we still know very little about our own planet,” Professor Tkalči added.

New Zealand’s research vessel RV Tangaroa is used to collect sensors during its 24-day Southern Ocean voyage.

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