This image is a cross sectional view through a fractured pillow basalt. The outer curved surface is the chilled rind, and the “wedges” that radiate from the center are fractures caused by rapid cooling of molten lava in the cold seawater. The red laser points are 10 cm (~4 in) apart, giving the observers in the submarine a sense of scale. Image courtesy of NOAA, WHOI, the Alvin Group and the 2004 GOA Seamount Exploration Science Party
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