Eratosthenes Seamount
The Eratosthenes Seamount or Eratosthenes Tablemount is a seamount in the Eastern Mediterranean about 100 km south of western Cyprus. It is a large, submerged massif, about 120 km long and 80 km wide. Its peak lies at the depth of 690 m and it rises 2000 m above the surrounding seafloor, which is located at the depth of up to 2,700 m and is a part of the Herodotus Abyssal Plain. It is one of the largest features on the Eastern Mediterranean seafloor.
| Eratosthenes Seamount | |
|---|---|
 Bathymetric features south of Cyprus | |
| Summit depth | 690 m (2,264 ft) |
| Height | 2,000 m (6,562 ft) |
| Summit area | 120 km × 80 km (75 mi × 50 mi) |
| Location | |
| Location | Eastern Mediterranean |
| Group | Herodotus Abyssal Plain |
| Country | 33°40′N 32°40′E |
| Geology | |
| Type | Seamount (continental fragment) |
In 2010 and 2012 the Ocean Exploration Trust's vessel EV Nautilus explored the seamount looking for shipwrecks. Three were found; two were Ottoman vessels from the 19th century and the third was from the 4th century BC. Such seamounts are considered to be ideal for the preservation of shipwrecks because at depths of around 600 metres the areas are not disturbed by trawlers or by sediments coming off land.[1]
Oceanography
The Cyprus eddy is a sustained mesoscale oceanic eddy with a diameter about 100 kilometers, regularly appearing above Eratosthenes Seamount. It was surveyed by oceanographic cruises notably in 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2009.[2]
See also
References
- Learn, Joseph Rapp (9 December 2017). "Wayfarers of the ancient world". New Scientist. Vol. 236 no. 3155. p. 12.
- Hayes, D. R.; Zodiatis, G.; Konnaris, G.; Hannides, A.; Solovyov, D.; Testor, P. (June 2011). "Glider transects in the Levantine Sea: Characteristics of the warm core Cyprus eddy". OCEANS 2011 IEEE - Spain. IEEE. doi:10.1109/oceans-spain.2011.6003393. ISBN 978-1-4577-0086-6.
External links
- Mart, Yossi and Robertson, Alastair H. F. (1998). Eratosthenes Seamount: an oceanographic yardstick recording the Late Mesozoic-Tertiary geological history of the Eastern Mediterranean, in Robertson, A.H.F., Emeis, K.-C., Richter, C., and Camerlenghi, A. (eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Vol. 160, Chapter 52, 701–708.
- Kempler, Ditza (1998). Eratosthenes Seamount: the possible spearhead of incipient continental collision in the Eastern Mediterranean, in Robertson, A.H.F., Emeis, K.-C., Richter, C., and Camerlenghi, A. (eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Vol. 160, Chapter 53, 709–721.
- Earthref entry