MH370 search data unveils ancient geological movements

MH370 search data unveils ancient geological movements

The whereabouts of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

The plane vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board in  March 2014

Now, detailed sea-floor maps made during the search for the missing plane are revealing new details about rich fisheries and the prehistoric movement of the Earth's southern continents.

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An undated supplied image from Geoscience Australia shows a computer generated three-dimensional view of the sea floor obtained from mapping data collected during the first phase of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370

An undated supplied image from Geoscience Australia shows a computer generated three-dimensional view of the sea floor obtained from mapping data collected during the first phase of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370

THE MH370 FLIGHT

The Boeing 777, believed to be carrying 239 passengers and crew, vanished three years ago.

It was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

The flight departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:41 on 8 March 2014 (16:41 GMT, 7 March) and was due to arrive in Beijing at 06:30 (22:30 GMT).

According to Malaysia Airlines the plane lost contact one hour after take-off.

It did not send any distress signals beforehand.

The last words spoken by the pilot or co-pilot were 'Good night Malaysian three seven zero'.

Just minutes later the plane's transponder was shut down.

The whereabouts of the plane remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

The Indian Ocean search ended in January after covering a lonely stretch of open water where under-sea mountains larger than Mount Everest rise and a rift valley dotted with subsea volcanoes runs hundreds of miles long. 

However, information gathered during painstaking surveys of some 120,000 sq km (46,000 sq miles) of the remote waters west of Australia should provide fishermen, oceanograph ers and geologists insight into the region in unprecedented detail, said Charitha Pattiaratchi, professor of coastal oceanography at the University of Western Australia.

'There are the locations of seamounts which will attract a lot of international deep sea fishermen to the area,' Dr Pattiaratchi told Reuters by phone.

High-priced fish such as tuna, toothfish, orange roughy, alfonsino and trevally are known to gather near the seamounts, where plankton swirl in the currents in the inhospitable waters. 

The search was completed in two phases. 

The first was the bathymetric survey which involved making a detailed map of the sea floor topography.

By measuring the strength of the sonar researchers could distinguish between hard and soft sediment. 

They could also identify anomalies on the sea floor that needed to be looked at in more detail.

Phase two was an underwater sea floor search using sonar equipment mounted on underwater vehicles to collect high-quality sonar images. 

The search was carried out in a remote part of the Indian Ocean around 2000km (1242miles) from Perth. Boats took six days to reach the search area.

Information gathered during painstaking surveys of some 120,000 sq km (46,000 sq miles) of the remote waters west of Australia should provide fishermen, oceanographers and geologists insight into the region in unprecedented detail

Information gathered during painstaking surveys of some 120,000 sq km (46,000 sq miles) of the remote waters west of Australia should provide fishermen, oceanographers and geologists insight into the region in unprecedented detail

The data indicated the aircraft crashed somewhere along a narrow arc (pictured) in the Indian Ocean. The search was carried out in a remote part of the Indian Ocean around 2000km (1242 miles) from Perth. Boats took six days to reach the search area

The data indicated the aircraft crashed somewhere along a narrow arc (pictured) in the Indian Ocean. The search was carried out in a remote part of the Indian Ocean around 2000km (1242 miles) from Perth. Boats took six days to reach the search area

WHAT DID THEY FIND?

One of the major new features is the Broken Ridge which is 1200 km (745 miles) long and was created more than 40 million years ago.

This is the oldest sea floor in the search area. It has 300 metres (984 feet) of sediment on top of it and has extensive sea floor landslides - some of which can go on for several kilometres.

The Gulden Draak Seamount and the Batavai Seamount are found in this search area.

The sea floor of the Diamantina Escarpment is the youngest geologically and was formed by 'sea floor spreading'.

It is home to complex geological features including ridges, volcanoes and valleys.

The Geelvinck Fracture Zone was formed by similar tectonic motions to the Broken Ridge. It is 900 metres (2900 feet) deep and 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) wide.

Investigations also found a number of shipwrecks in the area.

It was one of the largest marine surveys ever conducted, according to the Australian government and provided maps that were at least 15 times better quality than what was previously available.

They found a variety of new features, including seamounts 1500 metres (4920 feet) high an d sediment landslides that go on for several kilometres.

One of the major new features is the Broken Ridge which is 1200 km (745 miles) long and was created more than 40 million years ago.

This is the oldest sea floor in the search area. 

It has 300 metres (984 feet) of sediment on top of it and has extensive sea floor landslides - some of which can go on for several miles.

The Gulden Draak Seamount and the Batavai Seamount are found in this search area.

The sea floor of the Diamantina Escarpment is the youngest geologically and was formed by 'sea floor spreading'.

It is home to complex geological features including ridges, volcanoes and valleys.

The Geelvinck Fracture Zone was formed by similar tectonic motions to the Broken Ridge. It is 900 metres (2900 feet) deep and 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) wide.

One of the major new features is the Broken Ridge which is 1200 km (745 miles) long and was created more than 40 million years ago

One of the major new features is the Broken Ridge which is 1200 km (745 miles) long and was created more than 40 million years ago

The Geelvinck Fracture Zone was formed by similar tectonic motions to the Broken Ridge. It is 900 metres (2900 feet) deep and 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) wide

The Geelvinck Fracture Zone was formed by similar tectonic motions to the Broken Ridge. It is 900 metres (2900 feet) deep and 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) wide

Investigations also found a number of shipwrecks in the area.

They also found whale bones and cable from a vessel.

Dr Pattiaratchi said the location of seamounts would also help model the impact of tsunamis in the region.

Undersea mountains help dissipate their destructive energy, and potentially change our understanding of the break-up of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.

The Gulden Draak Seamount is found in the Broken Ridge search area. It has 300 metres (984 feet) of sediment on top of it and has extensive sea floor landslides - some of which can go on for several kilometres

The Gulden Draak Seamount is found in the Broken Ridge search area. It has 300 metres (984 feet) of sediment on top of it and has extensive sea floor landslides - some of which can go on for several kilometres

The Batavai Seamount is also part of the Broken Ridge area. This is the oldest sea floor in the search area. Investigations also found a number of shipwrecks in the area

The Batavai Seamount is also part of the Broken Ridge area. This is the oldest sea floor in the search area. Investigations also found a number of shipwrecks in the area

The data was published online by Geoscience Australia on Wednesday, with a further tranche due to be published next year.

'It is estimated that only 10 to 15 per cent of the world's oceans have been surveyed with the kind of technology used in the search for MH370, making this remote part of the Indian Ocean among the most thoroughly mapped regions of the deep ocean on the planet,' said Stuart Minchin, chief of Geoscience Australia's environmental geoscience division.

Australia has not ruled out resuming the search for the Boeing 777 airliner.

However, it has said that would depend on finding 'credible new evidence' about the plane's whereabouts .

Pictured is a  Boeing 777 aircraft Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 leaving Schiphol Airport in Schiphol, the Netherlands, which was similar to the one that disappeared. The whereabouts of the plane remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries

Pictured is a  Boeing 777 aircraft Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 leaving Schiphol Airport in Schiphol, the Netherlands, which was similar to the one that disappeared. The whereabouts of the plane remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries

'No new information has been discovered to determine the specific location of the aircraft and the underwater search remains suspended,' Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said in a statement on Wednesday.

The flight departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:41 on 8 March 2014 (16:41 GMT, 7 March) and was due to arrive in Beijing at 06:30 (22:30 GMT).

According to Malaysia Airlines the plane lost contact one hour after take-off.

It did not send any distress signals beforehand.

The last words spoken by the pilot or co-pilot were 'Good night Malaysian three seven zero'.

Just minutes later the plane's transponder was shut down.

 

 

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