Never-before-seen chain of volcanoes discovered hiding near the Cook Islands

Stunning aerial view of the Muri beach and lagoon, with its three island, in Rarotonga in the Cook island archipelago in the Pacific.

A series of relatively young underwater volcanoes has been discovered under the waves of the Pacific Ocean, some of which may even be active.

The volcanoes were found during an expedition to map the seafloor near the Cook Islands in the Central Pacific, about 2,900 miles (4,700 kilometers) south of Hawaii. If these structures are volcanically active, the heat that they generate may have spawned a unique and exciting marine habitat nearby, the researchers said.