The SO 225 expedition with the German research vessel SONNE lead scientists to the 120 million-year-old Manihiki Plateau. The formation at the bottom of the Western Pacific is up to four kilometers high and covers an area of the size of France. How long did it take until this plateau was formed? Did it develop together with the two adjacent lava plateaus, Hikurangi and Ontong Java, during a gigantic volcanic event? Where do these huge amounts of lava come from?

As part of the project MANIHIKI II, funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, scientists from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) revealed some secrets of the plateau. The remotely operated underwater vehicle ROV KIEL 6000 gave new insights into the lava landscape. Important samples were obtained employing corer and dredge. The participants even observed the eruption of the underwater volcano Monowai.