The Tasmantid Seamount Chain (alternatively Tasmantid Seamounts, Tasman Seamounts, Tasman Seamount Chain, Tasmantide Volcanoes or the Tasmantids)[2] is a 2,000 km (1,200 mi) long chain of seamounts in the South Pacific Ocean. The chain consists of over 16 extinct volcanic peaks, many rising more than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) from the seabed.[3][4][5] It is one of the two parallel seamount chains alongside the East Coast of Australia; the Lord Howe and Tasmantid seamount chains both run north-south through parts of the Coral Sea and Tasman Sea. These chains have longitudes of approximately 159°E and 156°E respectively.[6]
Tasmantid Seamount Chain | |
---|---|
800km 500miles T a s
m
a n t i d S e a m o u n t s
Mellish Reef
Fraser Seamounts
Recorder Guyots
Moreton Seamounts
Mooloolaba Seamount
Brisbane Guyots
Stradbroke Seamount
Barcoo Bank
Kimbla Seamount | |
Location | |
Location | Coral and Tasman seas |
Coordinates | 31°00′S 156°00′E / 31.000°S 156.000°E |
Geology | |
Type | Seamount chain |
Age of rock |
Like its neighbour, the Tasmantid Seamount Chain has resulted from the Indo-Australian Plate moving northward over a stationary hotspot.[7] It ranges in age from about 56 to 7 million years old.[3]
The Tasmantid Seamount Chain includes the following named seamounts:
Seamount | Location | Age[Age note 1] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Gascoyne Seamount | 36°41′00″S 156°07′00″E / 36.68333°S 156.11667°E | 7.13 ± 0.07 Ma | [8][9][1] |
Kimbla Seamount | 35°06′37″S 156°28′32″E / 35.110323°S 156.475641°E | [3] [5] | |
Taupo Bank | 33°10′00″S 156°10′00″E / 33.166667°S 156.166667°E | 10.3 to 11.4 Ma | [8][9] |
Barcoo Bank | 32°35′00″S 156°15′00″E / 32.58333°S 156.25°E | [8] | |
Derwent Hunter Guyot | 30°52′00″S 156°11′00″E / 30.86667°S 156.18333°E | 16.83 ± 0.1 Ma | [8][1] |
Stradbroke Seamount | 29°05′00″S 155°45′00″E / 29.08333°S 155.75°E | [8] | |
Britannia Guyots | 28°17′00″S 155°38′00″E / 28.28333°S 155.63333°E | 17.6 to 23 Ma | [8][9]North, Central and South Seamounts[3] Central Britannia 23.0± 0.2 Ma, South Britannia age 21.68 ± 0.17 Ma[1] |
Queensland Guyot | 27°35′00″S 155°11′00″E / 27.58333°S 155.18333°E | 20.9 Ma | [8][9] |
Brisbane Guyots | 26°59′00″S 155°05′00″E / 26.98333°S 155.08333°E | 27.28 ± 0.15 | [8]Age is North Brisbane[1] North and South Brisbane Seamounts[3] |
Mooloolaba Seamount | 26°20′S 154°52′E / 26.33°S 154.87°E | [5] | |
Moreton Seamounts | 26°01′00″S 154°58′00″E / 26.01667°S 154.96667°E | [8]North and South Moreton[3] | |
Recorder Guyots | 25°10′00″S 154°55′00″E / 25.16667°S 154.91667°E | 26.4 to 30.0 Ma | North Recorder is younger[1]Named from the British cable ship "Recorder"[8] North and South Recorder Seamounts[3] |
Fraser Seamounts | 24°26′00″S 155°17′00″E / 24.43333°S 155.28333°E | 26.4 ± 0.2 Ma | [8]Age South Frazer[1] North and South Fraser[3] Not to be confused with Fraser Island. |
Cato Reef | 23°13′S 155°34′E / 23.217°S 155.567°E | 31.25 ± 0.16 Ma | [1][8]Coral reef |
Wreck Reefs | 22°11′S 155°20′E / 22.183°S 155.333°E | 31.7 to 32.9 Ma | [8][1][10]Coral reef |
Kenn Reef | 21°12′S 155°43′E / 21.200°S 155.717°E | [8]Coral reef | |
Mellish Reef | 17°25′00″S 155°50′00″E / 17.41667°S 155.83333°E | [8]Most northern coral reef of seamount chain[10] |
There is an unnamed seamount between Stradbroke Seamount and Derwent Hunter Guyot and 7 unnamed seamounts in the Coral Sea near Mellish Reef that have been assigned to the chain.[1] Some of the later have age ranges between 37.0 to 50.5 Ma.[1] Also assigned to the chain are two sampled areas of the southern Louisiade Plateau with ages of 56.40 ± 0.60 and 55.00 ± 0.40 Ma respectively that are believed to represent the most northern aspects of the chain.[1]
The volcanics are saturated tholeiitic to transitional alkali-olivine basalt.[1]