After nearly half a century of work and analyzing 15,000 samples from research vessels, the University of Sydney’s School of Earth Sciences has created an unprecedented image of the Earth.
According to an article in the Daily Mail, the map, published in the Journal of Geology, offers new insights into the depths of the world’s oceans, which make up 70% of the Earth’s surface.
It also reveals how they have been affected by climate change. The researchers found that much of the seafloor is not covered by clay, but by a “complex patchwork of microfossil remains”.
In particular, to analyze the huge amount of data, lead scientist Dr Adriana Dutkiewicz worked with experts from National ICT Australia (NICTA) to develop an interactive map using algorithms.
The research benefits
Although researchers have recently been experimenting with collecting satellite data to analyze the Earth’s surface, this technique – acoustic beams from ships – is thought to be the most accurate.
Dr. Dutkiewicz said the main benefit of this research will be to improve our understanding of climate change. He said: “To understand environmental change in the oceans, we need to better understand what is preserved in the geological record of the seafloor.
He continued: “The deep ocean floor is a graveyard, much of it made up of the remains of tiny marine organisms called phytoplankton that thrive in sunlit surface waters.
It adds: “The composition of these remnants can help unravel how the seas reacted to climate change in the past… We urgently need to understand how the ocean is responding to climate change”.
Paving the way to explore
“It will also open the way for research cruises “to better understand the function and history of the marine carbon cycle,” adds Dr Dutkiewicz. Some speculate that it will even be useful for oil exploration.
Much of North America, especially on the western side of the continent, is surrounded by siliceous mud, a sediment that is usually made up of the shells of phytoplankton.
Where they focused their studies
The Australasian landscape was a major focus of the study because the data quickly began to contradict much of what scientists believed to be true about the region. The seafloor they found is complex, deep, and covered with microfossil remains.
According to the map, which shows a blue aura around Australia, the seafloor is largely composed of calcareous mud, a slurry of calcium carbonate formed by free-floating organisms. The research team will now focus on the relationship between this part of the seafloor and surface water to understand its significance.
What is shown on the old map of Earth
“Australia’s new research vessel, the Investigator, is in an ideal position to further investigate the effects of environmental change on the productivity of diatoms [the most common form of phytoplankton],” Dr. Dutkiewicz said.
“Our map shows that this region is actually a complex patchwork of microfossil remains, whereas old maps suggested that much of the Southern Ocean around Australia was covered by clay blown off the continent. “Life in the Southern Ocean is much richer than previously thought,” he adds.
Where the new digital maps of Earth helps
The digital map follows a groundbreaking study in 2014, when University of California, San Diego researchers used satellites to create footprints of mountains – “seamounts” – that lie beneath miles of sediment on the ocean floor.
The 2014 study revealed missing information about buried tectonic structures.
Among the previously unseen features are newly exposed continental connections across South America and Africa. There is also new evidence of seafloor spreading ridges in the Gulf of Mexico that were active 150 million years ago.
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