Marine scientists aboard the exploration vessel (E/V) Nautilus have discovered an ancient dry lake bed that looks like a “yellow brick road,” whose floor appearance led researchers to describe it as “the road to Atlantis.” (or maybe the one followed by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz).
What exactly is this path?
The exploration took place during the research team’s study of seamounts, mountains formed by volcanic activity, in an area called the Liliʻuokalani ridge in the Papahānaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) in the Pacific Ocean. As the team used a remotely operated vehicle in their investigation, they observed an incredible rock formation that, beyond all legend, is an example of ancient active volcanic geology on the ocean floor near Hawaii.
This somewhat unusual geological feature, similar in appearance to a cobblestone paved road, is located in one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world, larger than all the national parks in the US combined, and also one of the less explored areas: barely 3% of its seabed has been observed.
Thus, this natural brickwork is nothing but the result of volcanic geology that has fractured the rock in a curiously uniform way.
“At the top of the Nootka seamount, the team saw a ‘dry lake bed’ formation, now identified as a fractured flow of hyaloclastite rock (a volcanic rock formed in high-energy eruptions where many rock fragments settle to the bottom of the sea).
The crew of the research vessel Exploration Vessel Nautilus (E/V Nautilus) also took the opportunity to try to sample a manganese crust from the seabed with the help of a robotic arm. Thanks to this robotic appendage, the researchers were able to take a closer look at a group of ferromanganese crust, a marine sedimentary mineral deposit composed of iron and manganese oxides. Once they got the sample, the rover stumbles upon a surprisingly dry-looking stretch of what they call “baked crust” where you can see the cobblestone “yellow brick road” that we can see in the video recorded by the scientists.
Nautilus Project
All of this has been broadcast through the Nautilus project, which posts daily updates via live footage of the exploration and deep-sea documentation is constantly posted on the team’s YouTube channel.
The Yellow Brick Road was located on the summits of the Liliʻuokalani Range, known as the Nootka Seamount. The road, which had the striking appearance of colonial sidewalks and roads, resembled a separate ‘baked’ crust due to its dryness. According to experts, its appearance is probably due to the constant heating and cooling process of the area caused by later eruptions ; a pattern of cracks in the seafloor that is “an example of ancient active volcanic geology,” the researchers say.
This exploration vehicle is operated by the nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust , in partnership with NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, which streams its adventures online, giving viewers a first-hand look at what they see. in the depths their remote-controlled diving vehicles.
The primary goal of his latest expedition was to collect samples to determine the geological origin and age of seamounts to better understand the formation of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.
Reference: Exploración E/V Nautilus/Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA Ocean Exploration.
