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| Bajo de las Sombras | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bajo de las Sombras |
| Type | Submerged seamount |
| Location | South Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 36°S 56°W |
| Depth | ca. 200–1,200 m |
| Country | International waters |
| Discovery | 19th century (charting) |
Bajo de las Sombras is a submerged seamount in the South Atlantic Ocean noted for its complex bathymetry, rich benthic communities, and historical significance for navigation and fisheries. The feature lies along submarine plateaus that connect to well-known oceanographic provinces, and it has been the focus of multidisciplinary studies involving oceanography, marine biology, geology, and maritime history.
Bajo de las Sombras lies within the broader South Atlantic basin near the continental margins associated with Argentina, Uruguay, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Brazil, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena, and Ascension Island, and it is referenced in charts used by British Admiralty, Instituto Hidrográfico de la Armada de la República Argentina, United States Hydrographic Office, and Naval Hydrographic Office publications. The seamount sits between the South American continental shelf, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the Bathymetric plain sectors charted during voyages of James Cook, Ferdinand Magellan, and Matthew Flinders, and later surveyed by expeditions of HMS Challenger, RV Polarstern, RV Sonne, and RRS James Cook. Proximal oceanographic features include the Malvinas Current, the Brazil Current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and eddies studied by Alfred Wegener Institute, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers.
Geologically, Bajo de las Sombras is interpreted as a volcanic seamount, possibly a drowned volcanic cone or an eroded part of an ancient plateau associated with the breakup of Gondwana and the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. Seismic profiles from surveys by US Geological Survey, Geoscience Australia, and British Geological Survey show strata similar to other South Atlantic seamounts like Vema Seamount, Walvis Ridge, and Rio Grande Rise. Radiometric datings using methods developed at Cambridge University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Oxford laboratories suggest formation during the Cretaceous to Paleogene volcanism linked to hotspots comparable to Tristan da Cunha hotspot and Gough Island hotspot. Sediment cores analyzed by teams from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and German Research Centre for Geosciences reveal layers of pelagic ooze, turbidites, and manganese crusts similar to those on Hecate Seamount and Great Meteor Seamount.
Bajo de las Sombras supports benthic and pelagic assemblages with affinities to sub-Antarctic, temperate, and tropical faunas recorded by surveys from World Wildlife Fund, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Royal Society, and National Geographic Society expeditions. Documented taxa from trawls and ROV imagery include sponges, corals, echinoderms, crustaceans, cephalopods, demersal fishes, and planktonic communities comparable to those at Galápagos Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Macquarie Island, and Juan Fernández Islands. Studies by Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Montevideo, and Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales report endemic species and biodiversity hotspots similar to Aagaard Seamount and Coral Sea features. Trophic interactions involve predators such as HMS Endurance-reported fisheries species, seabirds like Albatrosses referenced in logs by Charles Darwin, and marine mammals including Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, and Orca sighted in surveys by International Whaling Commission teams.
The seamount has been noted on nautical charts since the age of sail, with possible early references in logs from HMS Beagle, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, and later hydrographic work by Matthew Fontaine Maury and Alexander von Humboldt. Systematic exploration accelerated with scientific voyages such as HMS Challenger expedition, Dana (ship), and 20th-century research cruises by RV Atlantis, RV Knorr, and RRS Discovery. Fisheries documented by Comisión Técnica Mixta del Frente Marítimo and companies like Pescanova and Frigorífico del Plata exploited demersal stocks, while naval surveys by Royal Navy, Armada de la República Argentina, and United States Navy collected bathymetric and sonar data. Modern exploration uses platforms from Schmidt Ocean Institute, Ocean Infinity, and remotely operated vehicles built by Oceaneering International and Bluefin Robotics.
The seamount has been targeted for demersal fisheries, particularly species marketed by Conger, Merluccius merluccius-type fisheries, and for longline and trawl operations run by fleets from China, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Argentina. Interest in mineral resources includes ferromanganese crusts analogous to deposits studied near Cook Islands, Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Seamount Mineral Resources, and prospecting by companies such as Lockheed Martin-affiliated contractors and mining consortia modeled on projects by Nautilus Minerals. Hydrocarbon surveys by ExxonMobil, Petrobras, and Repsol in adjacent basins have informed regional resource assessments, while bioprospecting for novel compounds has attracted attention from institutions like Instituto Pasteur, University of California, and CNRS.
Human impacts include overfishing documented by Food and Agriculture Organization, bycatch and habitat damage reported to Convention on Biological Diversity, and potential mining impacts raised in forums of International Seabed Authority, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and International Maritime Organization. Climate-driven changes tied to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments affect currents and productivity, with ocean acidification studies from NOAA, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Plymouth Marine Laboratory indicating threats to calcifying organisms similar to declines observed at Great Barrier Reef, Coral Triangle, and Galápagos. Conservation measures proposed by Marine Stewardship Council, BirdLife International, Greenpeace, and regional agreements like Mercosur-adjacent accords include marine protected area designations modeled on Galápagos Marine Reserve and governance frameworks under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Mariners’ lore recorded in logs from Argentine Navy, Royal Navy, British East India Company, and whaling accounts by American Antiquarian Society collectors include legends of phantom shoals, ghost ships, and navigational hazards similar to tales surrounding Sandy Island and Bermeja. Local folkloric references in coastal communities of Mar del Plata, Montevideo, Port Stanley, and Punta del Este feature stories of lost sailors and rich fishing grounds echoed in ballads collected by National Library of Argentina and Biblioteca Nacional de Uruguay. Artistic and literary treatments in works by Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Pablo Neruda, and Joseph Conrad invoke submerged features and seafaring mythologies akin to the mystique surrounding Bajo de las Sombras.
Category:Seamounts