Godzilla Megamullion approved as an official undersea feature name

An international committee that standardises names for features of the ocean floor formally approved "Godzilla Megamullion" as the official name of a huge seafloor structure in the Philippine Sea, south of Japan. The body is the GEBCO subcommittee on undersea feature names, which keeps the global register of such names.

The feature is an oceanic core complex, a dome-like surface where deep crust and upper mantle rock were pulled up as tectonic plates drew apart. It lies in the Parece Vela Basin, part of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana region, and is among the largest features of its kind known, stretching well over 100 kilometres. Japanese researchers, including the Japan Coast Guard's hydrographic department, mapped it with ship-based sonar surveys.

The name, a nod to Japan's film monster, drew attention because of its size and its playful origin. Official registration gave the feature a recognised place on international charts and in scientific literature. It also meant that researchers studying how new ocean crust forms and how deep rocks reach the seabed could refer to it by a single agreed name.