Royal Navy’s ocean survey ship HMS Scott has shed light on the wonders of the deep as she surveyed the mid-Atlantic, her first mission in nearly two years.
Scanning the floor of the Atlantic between the Azores and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the hydrographic team on board found a canyon one kilometre deep, a volcano towering 800 metres, an underwater river and a peak rising 2,000 metres from the sea bed.
The Devonport-based research ship has been out of action since the autumn of 2013, undergoing the most extensive revamp in her 17-year career.
Since putting back to sea in April she’s undergone extensive training before striking out into the open sea to begin gathering information about the depths of the ocean.
Scott is expected to conduct surveys for up to 300 days a year, normally spending a month at a time ploughing up and down the oceans.
Image: Royal Navy