Undersea Mountain Photos: Brittlestar Swarm, More Found

An orange roughy glides over an undersea mountain, or"seamount,"located off the eastern coast ofNew Zealandin a 2006 picture.

Results from a five-year project to document and study the world's seamounts, calledCenSeam, were released this week. The project is part of a larger endeavor, the decade-longCensus of Marine Life, which aims to document alloceanflora and fauna. The census's final summary of up to 230,000 species will be released October 4.

(Relatedcensus pictures:"Dragonfish, Fireworm, More Found by Sea Surveys.")

Scientists estimate there are about 30,000 seamounts– defined as undersea mountains rising more than 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) high – scattered throughout the world's oceans.

Yet fewer than 300 seamounts have been looked at in any detail, saidMireille Consalvey, a CenSeam project coordinator based in New Zealand.

—Ker Than

CenSeam funding provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries; Land Information New Zealand; and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.

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