Filipino scientist Jenny Anne Barretto discovers what might be world’s largest caldera

Filipino marine geophysicist Jenny Anne Barretto has discovered what could be the largest caldera in the world, according to a report from CNN Philippines.

The New Zealand-based Filipino scientist published a paper that claims such along with other scientists, Ray Wood and John Milsom.

The massive caldera is named Apolaki Caldera. Apolaki means “giant lord”, after the Filipino mythical god of the sun and war.

Apolaki Caldera is located in the Philippine Rise, which was previously called Benham rise. The caldera is said to measure 150kms in diameter.

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute shared the Barretto’s discovery through a Facebook post.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST CALDERA IS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Jenny Anne Barretto, a Filipina marine geophysicist based in New Zealand, recently published a paper, along with Ray Wood and John Milsom, describing the morphology and formation of the Benham Rise.

Among their findings is the existence of the Apolaki Caldera within Benham Rise, which may be the world’s largest known caldera with a diameter of ~150 km. For comparison, Earth’s largest calderas, like the Yellowstone, is only about 60 km. The size is comparable to shield calderas in Mars (Olympus Mons; 80 km x 65 km) and Venus (Sacajawea; 150 X 105 km).

Apolaki means “giant lord”, after the Filipino mythical god of the sun and war.

There is still a lot we need to discover within our seas!

Link to article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/artic…/pii/S0025322719300684

*The authors were among the key scientists of the Benham Rise UNCLOS technical working group.

The discovery of the Apolaki Caldera is among the findings made by Barretto, Wood, and Milson in their research on the Philippine Rise. Their study also revealed the structure of the undersea feature for the first time.

The researchers mentioned in their publication that the caldera’s features indicate a “volcanic history consisting of both quiet and explosive eruptions.”

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