Ocean is a largely unchartered territory, one that is yet to be fully studied. And the researchers in the US are especially committed to this task as they wish to uncover the secret lies in the vast ocean to fully utilise oceanic resources. Keeping this in mind, they recently sent an uncrewed surveyor, Saildrone Surveyor SD 1200 for ocean mapping. And it found an unidentified seamount that’s taller than Burj Khalifa! Yes, you read that right and here’s all you need to know about this discovery!
Seamount Taller Than Burj Khalifa!
Saildrone Surveyor SD 1200 is the largest uncrewed ocean mapping vessel in the world. As mentioned above, it recently discovered a previously unidentified seamount standing at a height of 1,000 metres or 3,200 feet. In case you’re left scratching your head about its supposed height, Burj Khalifa in the UAE stands at 828 metres or 2,717 feet high. It’s worth mentioning that this discovery was part of the mission of mapping Aleutian waters in high resolution. As the United States Exclusive Economic Zone extends 200 nautical miles off the coast, it still remains vastly unmarked, unseen, and unexplored.
As it happens, Alaska is the least uncharted section of the region in terms of area. This mapping vessel scanned over 45,000 square kilometres of the uncharted oceanic floor off the coast of California and around Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
It was a massive feat, as this region is known for its severe weather. 35-knot winds which make walking difficult and waves that surge 5 metres or 16 feet high, make it difficult for crewed survey vessels.
Also Read: Burj Khalifa Snags The Number 1 Spot As Bucket List Location In The World
A Glimpse At The Tallest Buildings
You already know that Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Here is a list of the top 10 tallest buildings in the world that you need to know!
- Burj Khalifa, Dubai – 828 metres or 2,717 feet
- Shanghai Tower, Shanghai – 632 metres or 2,073 feet
- Makkah Royal Clock Tower, Mecca – 601 metres or 1,972 feet
- Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen – 599.1 metres or 1,965 feet
- Lotte World Tower, Seoul – 554.5 metres or 1,819 feet
- One World Trade Center, New York City – 541.3 metres or 1,776 feet
- Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, Guangzhou – 530 metres or 1,739 feet
- Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin – 530 metres or 1,739 feet
- CITIC Tower, Beijing – 527.7 metres or 1,731 feet
- TAIPEI 101, Taipei – 508 metres or 1,667 feet
We can only imagine how tall this seamount would actually be!
Cover Image Courtesy: Pexels & Twitter/saildrone.com