The Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) has discovered a seamount in Pacitan waters, East Java province. The height reaches 2,300 meters from the seabed and has a diameter of about 10 kilometers.
The location of the underwater mountain is 200 kilometers southwest of Pacitan. The depth is between 3 to 4 kilometers from the surface of the water.
Head of Pacitan BPBD Erwin Andriatmoko, Saturday (11/2), said that the volcanic activity was still being studied, including its positive and negative impacts.
Erwin explained, BIG had conducted a survey and mapping of the seamount in Pacitan, and it was predicted that the formation process would take a long time. According to BIG, the emergence of seamounts is the effect of the collision of the Indo-Australian plate in the Indian Ocean.
According to an analysis by a Geologist at the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), Prof. Amin Widodo, the seamount was formed due to a collision process and 200 kilometers along the coast in East Java is the location of plate collisions.
He revealed, the Indo-Australian plate in the Indian Ocean infiltrates under Eurasia which is on the island of Java, so that there are parts that can cool faster than others, because of a push. Amin said the plate’s speed could reach 6 cm per year.
He explained that the seamount in Pacitan might have had different rock properties so that it rose faster than other impacts.
Amin explained the new seamount was formed not because of the impact of frequent earthquakes. Precisely because of plate collisions, earthquakes can occur. Nevertheless, further research is needed on whether other potential disasters could arise from the seamount.
Furthermore, Amin only warned about the threat that could emerge from an underwater mountain. That is when the mountain slides to trigger a tsunami.
“The danger is that if there is a landslide, like in Cianjur, there will be earthquakes, and (seamounts) will slide. So, if a seamount collapses it can cause a tsunami,” said Amin.
Tsunamis generated from seamount landslides can be dangerous because they appear without signs or warnings.
“But yes, to make sure the underwater mountain in Pacitan must be seen first. We don’t know whether the volcano is active or not,” said Amin.
Read detikTravel’s article, “An Undersea Mountain Found in Pacitan, Are There Any Potential Dangers?” more