Massive Hidden Volcano Discovered in Hawaii Is Now Earth’s Largest
Right, so everything you thought you knew about Earths largest volcano? Scratch that. Turns out Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii has been dethroned, and its replacement was hiding in plain sight – or rather, hiding under about a thousand feet of ocean with just two tiny peaks poking above the surface.
The volcano is called Pūhāhonu, which in Hawaiian means “turtle rising for breath.” And honestly thats a perfect description because these two little rocks sticking out of the water – previously known as Gardner Pinnacles – are just the tip of an absolutely monstrous volcanic structure that researchers at the University of Hawaii have now confirmed is nearly twice the size of Mauna Loa.
University of Hawaii researchers published their findings confirming Pūhāhonu as the largest shield volcano on Earth. Using sonar surveys and quantitative modeling, they determined the volcano contains approximately 150,000 cubic kilometers of rock – making it roughly twice the volume of Mauna Loa.
But heres what makes this even more interesting – Pūhāhonu isnt just the biggest volcano, its also the hottest. CNN reported that analysis of rock samples revealed magma temperatures of about 1,700 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest magma recorded in the last 65 million years. Volume and temperature go hand in hand, as hotter magma is more likely to erupt in larger quantities.
The discovery also challenges existing theories about how volcanic hotspots work. Scientists previously thought hotspots like the one that created Hawaii would cool progressively over millions of years. But Pūhāhonu shows that hotspots can undergo pulses of increased melt production – a finding that will, as lead researcher Michael Garcia put it, “rewrite the textbooks on how mantle plumes work.”
The volcano is so massive that its actually causing Earths crust to sink beneath its weight. Its located within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, about 1,000 kilometers northwest of Honolulu. And while its now extinct, in its prime it would have been a truly awe-inspiring sight – a single volcano nearly as large as the entire Big Island of Hawaii, which itself was formed by five separate volcanoes.
Finding Earths largest shield volcano in the 21st century is remarkable. As Garcia noted, “we know more about the surface of Mars than what is below the ocean on Earth.” The ocean really is still hiding secrets.
