Scientists aboard the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s (SIO) research vessel Melville are mapping a chain of gigantic South Atlantic undersea mountains that have never before been charted. The discovery points to the vastness of the world’s remotes seas that have yet to be discovered. The largest seamount rises 14,700 feet from the seafloor — higher than Mount Whitney — making it the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, according to a recent SIO statement. Melville Capt. Chris Curl and geophysicist J.J. Becker, who received his Ph.D. from Scripps in 2008, are navigating over the gigantic mountains, the largest of which spans some 87 miles from one side to the other. “These particular seamounts are so steep that it was nerve-wracking to go from 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) of water to less than 500 meters (1,640 feet) in 15 or 20 minutes,” Becker said. David Sandwell, a Scripps professor of geophysics, has been providing guidance to the ship from his office on the Scripps campus in La Jolla as the vessel transits from South Africa to Chile. The seamounts, mapped by Melville’s multibeam sonar, are located in the South Atlantic Ocean approximately 1,200 miles southwest of Cape Town, South Africa. SIO is part of the University of California, San Diego.