The seafloor is littered with underwater mountains, a new global survey has revealed.
Almost 5% of the ocean is covered by seamounts, peaks rising more than 1000m above the surrounding sea floor, with 16% covered by smaller knolls.
Seamounts and knolls are important and little studied habitats for marine life, say the survey’s scientists.
Seamounts alone make up a habitat equivalent in size to Russia or all the world’s tropical dry forest.