Spotlight 11: Dom João de Castro Seamount

• Main Authors: Ricardo S. Santos, Fernando Tempera, Ana Colaço, Frederico Cardigos, Telmo Morato
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Oceanography Society 2010
• Subjects: Dom João de Castro; seamount; Oceanography; GC1-1581; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/1fe2c4bf408943c8a419d970f94f1e8e

Dom João de Castro is an isolated seamount located at 38°13.3’N, 26°36.2’W in the Azores archipelago (Northeast Atlantic), between the islands Terceira and São Miguel. The shallower parts of this seamount were formed in 1720, when a volcanic cone emerged from the sea that reached ~ 1-km across and 150-m high. This cone was eroded by ocean swells in just four months, and today only a large submerged caldera (300–600 m in diameter) remains whose bottom is at 50-m depth and its top at 13-m depth. Dom João Castro is an important fisheries ground both for demersal fish, such as the black-spot seabream Pagellus bogaraveo and the blue-mouth Helycolenus dactylopterus, and tuna pelagic visitors.