GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Seamounts are underwater mountains that rise hundreds or thousands of feet from the seafloor. They are generally extinct volcanoes that, while active, created piles of lava that sometimes break the ocean surface.

Detailed explanation-2: -Seamounts-undersea mountains formed by volcanic activity-were once thought to be little more than hazards to submarine navigation. Today, scientists recognize these structures as biological hotspots that support a dazzling array of marine life.

Detailed explanation-3: -Guyots are seamounts that have built above sea level. Erosion by waves destroyed the top of the seamount resulting in a flattened shape. Due to the movement of the ocean floor away from oceanic ridges, the sea floor gradually sinks and the flattened guyots are submerged to become undersea flat-topped peaks.

Detailed explanation-4: -But seamounts that erupt and grow to reach the surface have their conical tops flattened as a result of both erosion and coral reef growth. When these flat-topped seamounts eventually sink back down to deep water, they are called guyots.

Detailed explanation-5: -Seamounts are large submarine volcanic mountains, formed through volcanic activity and submerged under the ocean. Though they were once seen as nothing more than a nuisance by sailors, scientists have discovered that the structures of seamounts form wildlife hotspots.