Submerged volcano cluster found off the coast of Sydney »

Australia's new ocean-going research vessel Investigator has discovered extinct volcanoes about 250 kilometres off the coast of Sydney in 4,900 metres of water. Professor Richard Arculus, from the Research School of Earth Sciences, an igneous petrologist and a world-leading expert on volcanoes said these particular types of volcanoes are windows into the seafloor. "They tell us part of the story of how New Zealand and Australia separated around 40 to 80 million years ago and they'll now help scientists target future exploration of the sea floor to unlock the secrets of the Earth's crust," Professor Arculus said. "They haven't been found before because the sonar on the previous Marine National Facility (MNF) research vessel, Southern Surveyor, could only map the seafloor to 3,000 metres, which left half of Australia's ocean territory out of reach," Professor Arculus said. "On board the new MNF vessel, Investigator, we have sonar that can map the seafloor to any depth, so all of Australia's vast ocean territory is now within reach and that is enormously exciting," Professor Arculus said. The chief scientist for the voyage, UNSW marine biologist Professor Iain Suthers said the volcanoes were discovered during a search for nursery grounds for larval lobsters. At the same time the ship was also routinely mapping the seafloor.