Pacitan, IO – The Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) has discovered an underwater mountain in the waters 200km southwest of Pacitan, East Java.
It has a diameter of about 10km at the depth of 3-4km from the surface. According to BIG, this mountain emerged due to the impact of the Indo-Australian plate collision in the Indian Ocean. It completely new and there is no record of it in the database of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG).
“Because it’s completely new, we can’t say for sure yet whether the mountain is active or not. We need to conduct further study,” said PVMBG volcanologist Oktory Prambada, reported Detik, Monday (13/2).
According to geologist from the Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) Prof. Amin Widodo, the thrust of the Indo-Australian plate meets the Eurasian plate in the Indian Ocean and the speed can reach 6cm per year.
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“The Indo-Australian Plate in the Indian Ocean is superimposed by the Eurasia plate on the island of Java. Due to its push, some parts can rise faster. It is possible that Pacitan has different rock properties, so it rises faster than the other (collisions),” said Amin. (bp)