The Secret World of Seamounts: Watch the GeoWednesday talk on YouTube

The lecture "The Secret World of Seamounts" was held on 4th of February 2026 by Professor Carmen Gaina, who is a marine geoscientist with the Department of Geosciences and part of PHAB centre of excellence.

Photo: Professor Carmen Gaina on stage in the Science Library at the University of Oslo. On the right is Professor Trond Torsvik, who moderates the questions from an engaged audience. In the background is an image of a seamount in the Arctic which was explored by the GoNorth2025 marine expedition. Photo: GK Tjoflot

Professor Carmen Gaina on stage in the Science Library at the University of Oslo. On the right is Professor Trond Torsvik, who moderates the questions from an engaged audience. In the background is an image of a seamount in the Arctic which was explored by the GoNorth2025 marine expedition. Photo: GK Tjoflot

By Gunn Kristin Tjoflot

Published Feb. 9, 2026

Introduction

Professor Carmen Gaina, took the audience through the magic world of seamounts. What is a seamount, how and where they form, and why do they matter ? Seamounts are found in all ocean basins, and like terrestrial mountains, they are formed by geological processes, host diverse life, and influence their surroundings.

The talk also presented research done during the recent GoNorth expedition to the Arctic Ocean at the end of 2025. One of the expedition’s missions was to explore the basins and the development of the Mosby and the Polarstern seamounts, north of Svalbard. They were surveyed for the first time with a remote operating vehicle (ROV), the Ægir6000 from NORMAR. This made possible to collect rock samples, and stream live underwater footage.

Fun fact: Gaina noted that the highest mountain in the world is a seamount — Mauna Kea, off Hawaii. It rises 4,207 metres sea level but measures 10,203 metres from its base on the seafloor to its summit.

Photo: The Mosby Seamount is one of two seamounts of special interest to the DYPHOLE research project led by Professor Carmen Gaina. The research focuses on the geological origin and history of the rocks and sediments on the ocean floor. Photo: GK Tjoflot — The Mosby Seamount is one of two seamounts of special interest to the DYPOLE research project led by Professor Carmen Gaina. The research focuses on the geological origin and history of the rocks and sediments on the ocean floor. Photo: GK Tjoflot

GeoWednesday talk, 4. February, 2026:

See on YouTube: The secret world of Seamounts, lecture by Carmen Gaina, Dept of Geosciences, University of Oslo.

About the GeoWednesdays / GeoOnsdager lectures

Once a month, researchers at the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, will tell about their research and introduce the geosciences to a wide audience, from first-year undergraduates, colleagues to interested in general. It is possible to ask questions after the lectures. All interested are welcome.

The lectures are held in the Science Library in Vilhelm Bjerknes' hus, Campus Blindern, University of Oslo. Most of the lectures are available on YouTube afterwards via the Science Library. You can watch them here from this playlist:

GeoWednesdays, playlist on Youtube

Published Feb. 9, 2026 1:32 PM - Last modified Mar. 12, 2026 4:12 PM