Gigantic supervolcano spans 120,000 square miles and could be the
second biggest in the solar system behind Olympus Mons on
Mars
Scientists studying the ocean floor were shocked when they stumbled
upon what they believe is the world's largest volcano.
Gigantic Tamu Massif sits one mile deep beneath the Pacific ocean
several hundred miles away from Japan.
The site was believed to be made up several different volcanoes but
now scientists discovered it is in fact one huge supervolcano that
erupted some 145 million years ago.
Spanning some 120,000 square miles, Tamu Massif is a similar size
to the British Isles and is now thought to be the second largest
volcano in our solar system - behind Olympus Mons on Mars.
It is believed to sink some 18 miles deep into the Earth's
crust.
You can rest easy however, as researchers believe it is inactive
and it is 'unlikely' to erupt again in the near future.
A Nature Geoscience report says: "The structure of these volcanoes,
and how they erupt and evolve, is unclear, because they are remote
and submerged beneath the oceans.
"We show that the Tamu Massif is a single, immense volcano,
constructed from massive lava flows that emanated from the volcano
centre to form a broad, shield-like shape.
"We suggest that the Tamu Massif could be the largest single
volcano on Earth and that it is comparable in size to the largest
volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons on Mars."
Co-author William Sager from the University of Houston said: "We
don't have the data to see inside them but it would not surprise me
to find out that there are more like Tamu out there."
Previously, the largest volcano on Earth was Mauna Loa in
Hawaii.