Editing Seamount (section)

===Grouping===
{{Redirect|Seamount chain|a broader coverage of this topic|Undersea mountain range}}
Seamounts are often found in groupings or submerged [[archipelago]]s, a classic example being the [[Emperor Seamounts]], an extension of the [[Hawaiian Islands]]. Formed millions of years ago by [[volcanism]], they have since subsided far below sea level. This long chain of islands and seamounts extends thousands of kilometers northwest from the [[Hawaii (island)|island of Hawaii]].

[[File:Distribution of seamounts and guyots in the North Pacific.pdf|thumb|Distribution of seamounts and guyots in the North Pacific]][[File:N Atlantic seamounts (Converted).pdf|thumb|Distribution of seamounts and guyots in the North Atlantic]]

There are more seamounts in the Pacific Ocean than in the Atlantic, and their distribution can be described as comprising several elongate chains of seamounts superimposed on a more or less random background distribution.<ref name="Craig, C.H. 1988">{{cite journal | last1 = Craig | first1 = C.H. | last2 = Sandwell | first2 = D.T. | year = 1988 | title = Global distribution of seamounts from Seasat profiles | journal = Journal of Geophysical Research | volume = 93 | issue = B9| pages = 10408–410, 420 | doi=10.1029/jb093ib09p10408 | bibcode=1988JGR....9310408C}}</ref>  Seamount chains occur in all three major ocean basins, with the Pacific having the most number and most extensive seamount chains. These include the Hawaiian (Emperor), Mariana, Gilbert, Tuomotu and Austral Seamounts (and island groups) in the north Pacific and the Louisville and Sala y Gomez ridges in the southern Pacific Ocean. In the North Atlantic Ocean, the [[New England Seamounts]] extend from the eastern coast of the United States to the mid-ocean ridge. Craig and Sandwell<ref name="Craig, C.H. 1988"/> noted that clusters of larger Atlantic seamounts tend to be associated with other evidence of hotspot activity, such as on the [[Walvis Ridge]], [[Vitória-Trindade Ridge]], [[Bermuda Islands]] and [[Cape Verde Islands]]. The mid-Atlantic ridge and spreading ridges in the Indian Ocean are also associated with abundant seamounts.<ref>Kitchingman, A., Lai, S., 2004. Inferences on Potential Seamount Locations from Mid-Resolution Bathymetric Data. in: Morato, T., Pauly, D. (Eds.), FCRR Seamounts: Biodiversity and Fisheries. Fisheries Centre Research Reports. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, pages 7–12.</ref> Otherwise, seamounts tend not to form distinctive chains in the Indian and Southern Oceans, but rather their distribution appears to be more or less random.

Isolated seamounts and those without clear [[volcano|volcanic]] origins are less common; examples include [[Bollons Seamount]], [[Eratosthenes Seamount]], [[Axial Seamount]] and [[Gorringe Ridge]].<ref name=agu>{{cite book |doi=10.1029/GM043 |bibcode=1987GMS....43.....K |title=Seamounts, Islands, and Atolls |series=Geophysical Monograph Series |date=1987 |isbn=978-1-118-66420-9 |last1=Keating |first1=Barbara H. |last2=Fryer |first2=Patricia |last3=Batiza |first3=Rodey |last4=Boehlert |first4=George W. |volume=43 }}{{page needed|date=September 2024}}</ref>

If all known seamounts were collected into one area, they would make a landform the size of [[Europe]].<ref name=seasci>{{cite press release |title=Seamount scientists offer new comprehensive view of deep-sea mountains |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222162013.htm |work=ScienceDaily |publisher=Scripps Institution of Oceanography / UC San Diego |date=23 February 2010 }}</ref> Their overall abundance makes them one of the most common, and least understood, marine structures and [[biome]]s on Earth,<ref name=seasci-sig /> a sort of exploratory frontier.<ref name=oceanography-geo />