Uncrewed Drone Discovers An Underwater Mountain Over 3,000 Feet Tall

The ocean is a vast and terrifying place that has rendered itself just about the most challenging area on Earth to explore. With over 80% of it having never been mapped out or even seen by humans, one has to wonder if all of its secrets will ever be uncovered.
 
One uncrewed drone brings us closer to better understanding the seas after discovering an underwater mountain taller than the Burj Khalifa even, as pointed out by Interesting Engineering.
 
The Saildrone Surveyor SD 1200 had been sent out to survey an area of 17,347 square miles of uncharted waters between the coast of California and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. A place that often posed too difficult for human sailors thanks to adverse weather conditions, including 35-knot winds and walls of waves as high as 16 feet.
 
Though, it seemed as if such weather could not get in its way as just within its last 8,665 square nautical miles, the equipment stumbled upon an underwater mountain roughly 3,200 feet tall. The Burj Khalifa, in comparison, is just 2,717 feet. 
 
Such exploration proves vital to our grasp on the ocean as society relies heavily on it for things like food and even the internet (think deep-sea cables for Wi-Fi connection), notes Dr. Aurora Elmore, Cooperative Institute Manager at NOAA Ocean Exploration. Seamounts such as this are just another piece of the puzzle to understanding the marine ecosystem and, in turn, our own.
 
But with treacherous conditions, drones such as these come in handy when mapping out areas people cannot otherwise reach. The company concludes the mission by stating that this could be the future of sea exploration. 
 
 
 
[via Interesting Engineering and Saildrone, screenshot via Saildrone]