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Davidson Seamount
Davidson Seamount is a seamount ( underwater volcano) located off the coast of Central California, southwest of Monterey and west of San Simeon. At long and wide, it is one of the largest known seamounts in the world. From base to crest, the seamount is tall, yet its summit is still 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 of which are over 100 years of age. The data gathered during the studies fueled the making of Davidson Seamount into a part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $8.3 billion (fiscal year 2020), the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing. The NSF's director and deputy director are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, whereas the 24 president-appointed members of the National Science Board (NSB) do not require Senate confirmation. The director and deputy director are responsible for administration, planning, budgeting and day-to-day operations of the foundation, while t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pillow Lava
Pillow lavas are lavas that contain characteristic pillow-shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava underwater, or ''subaqueous extrusion''. Pillow lavas in volcanic rock are characterized by thick sequences of discontinuous pillow-shaped masses, commonly up to one meter in diameter. They form the upper part of Layer 2 of normal oceanic crust. Composition Pillow lavas are commonly of basaltic composition, although pillows formed of komatiite, picrite, boninite, basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite or even rhyolite are known. In general, the more felsic the composition (richer in silica - resulting in an Intermediate composition), the larger the pillows, due to the increase in viscosity of the erupting lava. Occurrence They occur wherever lava is extruded underwater, such as along marine hotspot volcano chains and the constructive plate boundaries of mid-ocean ridges. As new oceanic crust is formed, thick sequences of pillow lavas are erupted at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mid-ocean Ridge
A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary. The rate of seafloor spreading determines the morphology of the crest of the mid-ocean ridge and its width in an ocean basin. The production of new seafloor and oceanic lithosphere results from mantle upwelling in response to plate separation. The melt rises as magma at the linear weakness between the separating plates, and emerges as lava, creating new oceanic crust and lithosphere upon cooling. The first discovered mid-ocean ridge was the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is a spreading center that bisects the North and South Atlantic basins; hence the origin of the name 'mid-ocean ridge'. Most oceanic spreading centers are not in the middle of their hosting ocean basis but regardless, are traditionally called mid-ocean rid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip (horizontal). The fault divides into three segments, each with different characteristics and a different degree of earthquake risk. The slip rate along the fault ranges from /yr. It was formed by a transform boundary. The fault was identified in 1895 by Professor Andrew Lawson of University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley, who discovered the northern zone. It is often described as having been named after San Andreas Lake, a small body of water that was formed in a valley between the two plates. However, according to some of his reports from 1895 and 1908, Lawson actually named it after the surrounding San Andreas Valley. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Lawson concluded that the fault extende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large tectonic plates which have been slowly moving since about 3.4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of ''continental drift'', an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. Plate tectonics came to be generally accepted by geoscientists after seafloor spreading was validated in the mid to late 1960s. Earth's lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of the planet (the crust and upper mantle), is broken into seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates or "platelets". Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary: '' convergent'', '' divergent'', or ''transform''. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at the Equator. Lines of constant latitude, or ''parallels'', run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude and ''longitude'' are used together as a coordinate pair to specify a location on the surface of the Earth. On its own, the term "latitude" normally refers to the ''geodetic latitude'' as defined below. Briefly, the geodetic latitude of a point is the angle formed between the vector perpendicular (or ''normal'') to the ellipsoidal surface from the point, and the plane of the equator. Background Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definitions of latitude and longitude. In the first step the physical surface is modeled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the ocean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodriguez Seamount
Rodriguez Seamount is a seamount and guyot located about off the coast of Central California. It is structurally similar to the nearby Guide, Pioneer, Gumdrop, and Davidson seamounts, all located roughly between 37.5° and 34.0° degrees of latitude. This group of seamounts is morphologically unique, and the mounts are very similar to one another. The seamount structures run parallel to an ancient spreading center which has since been replaced in its role by the San Andreas Fault system. Geology Magnetic anomalies at Rodriguez indicate that it is located on a 19-million-year-old crustal surface. Rocks recovered from Rodriguez Seamount are largely composed of alkaline basalt and Hawaiite. Ar-Ar dating techniques indicate that the volcano is between 10 and 12 million years of age. Rodriguez Seamount rises about above the surrounding seafloor, to a minimum depth of . Its calculated volume is greater than ; however this is likely an understatement because the survey did not incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gumdrop Seamount
Gumdrop Seamount is a small seamount ( underwater volcano) located on the flank of Pioneer Seamount, off the coast of Central California. It is the northernmost of the related seamounts in the region, which includes Davidson, Guide, Pioneer, and Rodriguez seamounts. It is defined by a series of aligned cones, the majority of which are poorly defined, separated by troughs filled with sediments. The largest cone rises to within of sea level. It is estimated to have a volume of about , but the poorly defined base hinders observations of its size. Samples recovered from Gumdrop are highly vesicular in origin, and include alkalic basalt, hawaiite, and mugearite Mugearite () is a type of oligoclase-bearing basalt, comprising olivine, apatite, and opaque oxides. The main feldspar in mugearite is oligoclase. Mugearite is a sodium-rich member of the alkaline magma series. In the TAS classification of volc ...; however, their ages have yet to be determined. References Seamounts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pioneer Seamount
Pioneer Seamount is an undersea mountain, or seamount, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of central California. Location Pioneer Seamount is located at 37° 21.1' North Latitude, 123° 26.1' West Longitude, at the base of the continental slope of North America about off the coast just southwest of San Francisco, California. Physical characteristics The seamount is a volcano between 10.9 and 11.1 million years old. It is about long as well as about wide, and has a volume of about . It rises about above the surrounding ocean floor, and its peak is a minimum of below the oceans surface. Samples from the seamount consist of highly vesicular alkalic basalt, hawaiite, and mugearite. The seamount and its volcano once extended above the sea surface, but eroded and sank as the seamount and the seabed at its base were carried further away from the spreading center from which it presumably originated. Biological environment A wide variety of sealife lives on the seamount. Corals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guide Seamount
Guide Seamount is a seamount in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 16.6 ±0.5 million years old. It is similar in shape and orientation to the nearby Davidson, Pioneer, Rodriguez, and Gumdrop seamounts. It is named for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ship ''USC&GS Guide''. Guide Seamount is constructed of four nearly parallel volcanic ridges, separated by sediment-filled throughs. These are aligned parallel to magnetic anomalies in the underlying oceanic crust. It is very similar in shape and structure to the nearby Davidson Seamount, except that it is smaller, at approximately by . It rises about above the seafloor and sits at depth of . The lavas from Guide are mostly alkalic basalt, hawaiite, mugearite with some pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at av ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a popular tourist destination, owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historic landmarks. Santa Cruz was founded by the Spanish in 1791, when Fermín de Lasuén established Mission Santa Cruz. Soon after, a settlement grew up near the mission called Branciforte, which came to be known across Alta California for its lawlessness. With the Mexican secularization of the Californian missions in 1833, the former mission was divided and granted as rancho grants. Following the American Conquest of California, Santa Cruz eventually incorporated as a city in 1866. The creation of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in 1907 solidified the city's status as a seaside resort community, while the establishment of the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles, accessible via Highway 1 and Highway 280. Santa Cruz is located at the north end of the bay, and Monterey is on the Monterey Peninsula at the south end. The "Monterey Bay Area" is a local colloquialism sometimes used to describe the whole of the Central Coast communities of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Toponymy The first European to discover Monterey Bay was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo on November 16, 1542, while sailing northward along the coast on a Spanish naval expedition. He named the bay ''Bahía de los Pinos'', probably because of the forest of pine trees first encountered while rounding the peninsula at the southern end of the bay. Cabrillo's name for the bay was lost, but the westernmost point of the penin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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