Seamount

A seamount is an underwater mountain rising from the seafloor without reaching the ocean’s surface. Most are extinct or dormant volcanoes, though not all formed volcanically.

Oceanic crust: The relatively thin, dense crust forming the floors of ocean basins. Seamounts rise from this crust, whose age and structure influence where they form.
Hotspot volcanism: Volcanism caused by a localized mantle source that remains relatively fixed as a tectonic plate moves. A moving plate over a hotspot can leave a trail of volcanic seamounts.
Deep-sea coral: Corals that live in deep, cold waters, often attached to hard seafloor surfaces. Seamount slopes provide hard substrate where deep-sea corals can grow.
Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain: A chain of volcanic islands and seamounts extending from the Hawaiian Islands toward the northwest Pacific. Its changing ages and bend record Pacific Plate motion over a hotspot and a change in plate direction.
Submarine volcano: A volcano that erupts beneath water, often on the ocean floor. Many seamounts are the submerged volcanic edifices of this broader class.
Mid-ocean ridge: A continuous underwater mountain system where tectonic plates separate and new oceanic crust forms. Ridge volcanism can create volcanic peaks that stand apart from the ridge crest.
Seamount ecology: The study of organisms and ecological interactions associated with seamounts. This field examines how seamount relief and currents structure marine communities.
Lōʻihi Seamount: An active submarine volcano southeast of the island of Hawaiʻi, now named Kamaʻehuakanaloa. It is a growing volcanic seamount that may eventually emerge above sea level.
Mantle plume: A buoyant upwelling of hot mantle material that can generate volcanism beneath a tectonic plate. A plume can build a chain of seamounts as a plate moves over it.
Guyot: A flat-topped underwater volcanic mountain, typically shaped by wave erosion and later subsidence. Guyots are a distinctive seamount form, recording a former position near sea level.

Linked from 19 pages