’Ground-breaking’ voyage to unlock Earth’s inner secrets

The RV Tangaroa on its way to Macquarie Island. Photo: CSIRO - A significant mission to retrieve 27 seismometers from the rugged ocean floor near Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean will unlock the secrets of the Earth's inner layers. A significant mission to retrieve 27 seismometers from the rugged ocean floor near Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean will unlock the secrets of the Earth's inner layers and what triggers underwater earthquakes and tsunamis. The three-week return voyage has been more than 12 months in the making, after the seismometers were deployed in October 2020 . The instruments on the ocean floor form a giant telescope pointing to the Earth's centre and have been collecting data that will provide vital information about some of the Earth's most violent underwater earthquakes. They could also help scientists understand future earthquakes and tsunamis that might affect coastal populations in Australia and New Zealand. The "ground-breaking" trip also traverses some of the world's steepest mountain ranges to ocean depths of more than 5.5 kilometres in a remote area known as Macquarie Ridge, halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica.