Seafloor Geology

If you drained the water from the ocean basins, some of the most dramatic features you would see are groups or lines of underwater volcanoes called “seamounts.”

As we investigate the submarine slopes of Galápagos volcanoes we see life that no one has photographed before.

When a volcano erupts, the molten rock (or magma) that comes out of the Earth is called lava. Lava is the most common form of material erupted from volcanoes that form oceanic islands.

Learn about what gravity is and why using a gravimeter in Alvin can help geophysicists learn about the ocean crust.

Learn about the Earth’s magnetic field and why measuring it near the seafloor can help geophysicists understand how the ocean crust forms.