What is the Joseph Gilbert Seamount?

The Joseph Gilbert Seamount is a large submarine feature in the Tasman Sea, located west of New Zealand's South Island. Covering an area of roughly 11,500 square kilometers, it formed as a continental fragment during the Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana. It is named after Joseph Gilbert, who served as a captain on James Cook's second voyage.

What we know

• The Joseph Gilbert Seamount is a large seamount located in the Tasman Sea at the southern edge of the Lord Howe Rise. [1, 2]
• The seamount covers an area of about 11,500 square kilometers and rises to 2,400 meters below sea level. [2]
• It is a continental fragment that rifted away from the South Tasman Rise and Challenger Plateau during the Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana. [2]
• The structure is named after Joseph Gilbert, captain of HMS Resolution on the second voyage of James Cook. [2]

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureHow do continental fragments form?
• what caused itWhat caused the breakup of Gondwana?
• whoWho was Joseph Gilbert?
• compared withWhat is the Tasman Abyssal Plain like?
• how it workedHow do seamounts form in the Tasman Sea?
• an unexpected connectionHow does a remote seamount share a name with a Bahamian local government administrator?While the seamount is named after Captain James Cook's officer Joseph Gilbert, the unrelated island of San Salvador is administered by a modern official named Gilbert C. Kemp.

Sources

• [1]Joseph Gilbert Seamount (Wikidata Q96379486) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Joseph Gilbert Seamount · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Continental fragment · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Tasman Abyssal Plain · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]San Salvador Island · CC BY-SA 4.0