MERMAID Rises to the Ocean Surface after Recording An Earthquake Wave (IMAGE)

Princeton University

MERMAID Rises to the Ocean Surface after Recording An Earthquake Wave

Caption

Floating seismometers dubbed MERMAIDs -- Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers -- reveal that Galapagos volcanoes are fed by a mantle plume reaching 1,900 km deep. By letting their nine MERMAIDs float freely for two years, an international team of researchers created an artificial network of oceanic seismometers that could fill in one of the blank areas on the global geologic map, where otherwise no seismic information is available. This photo, taken while developing the MERMAIDs, shows one rising to the surface after it has recorded an earthquake wave. Once at the surface, it sends a seismogram via satellite to the scientists.

Credit

Yann Hello, University of Nice

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