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BIG discovers undersea mountain off southern coast of East Java
The Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) has discovered an undersea mountain off the southern coast of Pacitan regency while conducting a survey on Indonesia's extended continental shelf from Java to Nusa Tenggara.
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A stock image shows a view of the waters off Pacitan regency, East Java, as seen from Karang Bolong Beach. (Shutterstock/surya pratama)
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geological survey team from the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) has discovered an undersea mountain in the Indian Ocean south of Pacitan regency, East Java.
BIG’s marine mapping coordinator, Fajar Triady Mugiarto, said on Monday that the undersea mountain, also called a seamount, was located on the ocean floor at a depth of 6,000 meters and was 2,200 meters tall, meaning that the seamount’s peak was located 3,800 meters below sea level.
“The recently discovered seamount is located around 260 kilometers south of Pacitan, between the administrative lines of Central Java and East Java,” Fajar said.
The team from BIG’s Marine and Coastal Mapping Center (PKLP) made the discovery while surveying the extended continental shelf (ECS) spanning the regions of Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara.
In collaboration with the National Innovation and Research Agency (BRIN), the survey was conducted over 52 days at sea from September to November 2022 aboard the KR Baruna Jaya III.
The research vessel, which is owned by the BRIN, was used to record bathymetric data for developing a detailed map of seabed topography to measure Indonesia’s ECS, the coastal shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the country’s shores.
Fajar said that following the discovery of the seamount, BIG set up a coordination meeting with geologists, hydrographers and regional representatives from Pacitan regency and East Java province, as well as representatives from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the BRIN and the Indonesian Navy’s Hydro-Oceanographic Center (Pushidrosal).
