Three new underwater volcanoes have been discovered near the Sicilian coast, bringing to around 15 the number of known volcanoes in the Strait of Sicily, the channel that separates the island from North Africa, an expert told French news agency AFP on Wednesday.
"We discovered six volcanoes in 2019, plus the three from this recent discovery, but there are already five or six more listed, making a total of around 15 underwater volcanoes," said Emanuele Lodolo, a geophysics expert at the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS).
The three volcanoes discovered "are located at depths ranging from 100 to 400 metres and the closest is about 7 km off the coast" of south-west Sicily, Lodolo said.
It is impossible to say, however, whether these undersea volcanoes represent a danger to the population. "It's like with earthquakes, we're not in a position to make predictions. We cannot say that there won't be an eruption," Lodolo explained."The important thing is to monitor them constantly."
The OGS said in a statement that a shipwreck was also discovered during oceanographic research carried out from 16 July to 5 August by an international team of scientists on board the German vessel Meteor.
The wreck, which is unidentified, is that of a ship around 100 metres long and 17 metres wide, lying at a depth of 110 metres and located about halfway between the tiny volcanic island of Linosa and Sicily.
