Oceans are still a mystery for humans. Large swathes and depths of the sea are still untouched and unvisited by us. And their lurks many puzzles, creatures, ocean mysteries, and natural phenomena.
Let’s talk about some of these solved and unsolved ocean mysteries that defy our eyes!
1) The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle is one of the most mysterious as well as a popular phenomenon in the whole world. It is also one of the oldest sea mysteries which dates back to the times of Christopher Columbus. It is a region in the Caribbean Sea where a lot of ships and aircrafts have gone missing. There are several theories that have been put forward in order to explain these disappearances. It happens to be one of the twelve vile vertices on the earth.
Many of the theories say that the disappearances occur because of the strong electromagnetic effect of the earth in the regions. Some people claim to have seen mysterious, paranormal incidents happening in the region. Some theories even go towards the extra-terrestrial. We still do not know the truth about the Bermuda Triangle, despite the many claims.
2) Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon in which a living organism causes the production and emission of light. It occurs because of a chemical reaction that produces light energy in the body of an organism and thus emits light. It is a type of chemiluminescence. This is a widely occurring phenomenon especially in Marine vertebrates and invertebrates, some fungi and bioluminescent bacteria.
In this phenomenon, the sea appears to have lit up. Some sailors called the phenomena as “The Burning Sea“. It occurs very commonly among animals in the open sea like fish, jellyfish, bacteria, and fungi. start there are about 1500 species of fish that are known to produce luminescence.
3) Pororoca
Pororoca is a term used for a tidal bore. it has ways that can be up to 4 m high and can travel as far as 800 kilometers. This phenomenon occurs upstream of the Amazon River and its adjacent rivers.
During the nights of the full moon and new moon, the ocean tide is at the highest and the water flows in from the Atlantic instead of going the other way around. The flow of the Amazon reverses. The distance of this largely depends on the rainwater generated outflow of the river. A water bulge also speeds upstream with great force hence causing this phenomenon with an audible noise.
This phenomenon can be best observed during a bi-annual equinox which takes place in September and March. In this period the moon and the sun or in direct alignment with the Earth and the gravitational pull are combined.
The phenomenon is especially popular with surfers. Every year an annual surfing championship is held here. However, surfing in these tides can be dangerous as the water may contain a lot of debris and dangerous fauna.
4) Bimini Road
Bimini Road is an underwater rock formation located near the North Bimini island in the Bahamas. It is also called the Bimini Wall.
It is a long North East south west linear feature with a length of 0.8 km. It is composed of somewhat rectangular limestone blocks. Its origins are not clearly known. However, some theories claim that this feature could be a wall, a breakwater, a road, a pier or any other man-made structure.
It was discovered in 1968 by 3 divers. Carbon dating tells us that this feature was made by geological forces and not by humans. Still, some people claim that this could be the location of the lost city of Atlantis.
5) Steaming Black Sea
Phenomena of the Steaming Black Sea, more commonly known as sea smoke, frost smoke or steam fog is a natural phenomenon that is formed by the movement of very cold air over warm water.
In this, a light wind of very cold gets mixed with a shallow layer of saturated warm air which lies right above the warm water of the ocean. When the warm air can no longer hold so much of vapors the excess of it condenses out. This is similar to the production of steam over a hot bath.
This phenomenon appears to be turbulent. Sometimes it may even form spiraling columns. Sea smoke columns as high as 20 to 30 m in height have been observed. It is very common in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
6) Julia Sound
Julia Sound was a weird noise which was recorded on 1st March 1999 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, thought to be from somewhere around Antarctica. It was an eerie noise that sounded almost like someone cooling or whining. It lasted for about 15 seconds.
It was so loud that it could be heard from Antarctica till the Equatorial Pacific Ocean autonomous hydrophone array. The NOAA believes that the source of the sound could be a large iceberg that had run aground off. It is on the list of some of the spookiest and most mysterious sounds recorded in the ocean.
7) Baltic Sea Anomaly
The Baltic Sea anomaly is nothing by the interpretations of an indistinct sonar image. It was accidentally discovered by the diving team in 2011. They claim to have found a 60 m thick circular entity about 90 m deep into the Baltic Sea.
The object seems to have unusual features and a non-natural origin. Some people believe that it is a sunken UFO. Scientist believes that the image is nothing but a geological formation. The divers also claim that attract that seems to be directed towards this object also exists. The length of the track is nearly 300 m.
Despite the many interpretations and media attention that this has received, scientists do not believe that the origin of this object could be extra-terrestrial. However, this still remains one of the most intriguing and unsolved mysteries of the oceans.
8) Green Flashes
Green flashes are meteorological optical phenomena occurring in the oceans usually just before sunrise or after sunset. They can also occur over the top of clouds and mountains. A distinct green spot is visible for a few seconds above the upper room of the sun’s disc.
This may also occasionally resemble a green Ray shooting up from the point of sunrise or sunset. This phenomenon only takes place when the conditions are right. It happens because the earth’s atmosphere causes the light from the sun to separate into distinct colors. It can be called a natural prismatic effect.
Green classes are usually seen at unobstructed horizons, and hence usually take place over oceans. A green flash was photographed in color for the first time in 1960 from a Vatican Observatory.
9) The convergence of Baltic and North Seas
This is an oceanic phenomenon in which the Baltic Sea and the North Seas are visibly converging. However, there is no visible barrier present. The only barrier present is a chemical difference in salinity. It is known as a halocline. We can see the two different appearances of the seas.
We can say that the two seas do not mix because they have different rates of densities of water. The Baltic Sea mostly contains freshwater from a large land catch basin whereas the North Sea, which comes from the Danish Straits, is more saline in nature. This conversion takes place in the province of Skagen, Denmark.
Sometimes, surface mixing of the seas takes place because of regional temperature variations but in general, the seas are permanently separated. There is a lot of complicated chemistry involved in this phenomenon.
This is an unusual phenomenon and one of the most beautiful ones observed in oceans.
10) Underwater Crop Circles
Crop circles under the ocean, first spotted in 1995 off the southern coasts of Japan, were a matter of great intrigue and discussions for scientists. The locals termed these as mystery circles. These mystery circles actually remain a mystery until 2011.
The answer to this mystery is pufferfish. These species create elaborate circular designs in order to woo females. Scientists say that it is the quality of the circle that can help us determine of female’s mate choice.
Resorts team one observed 10 constructions going on by 4 to 8 male pufferfish. It took them about 7 to 9 days to build a circle. They use their fans to dig in the sandy bottoms. They also decorated the pics which shell and coral fragments.
These patterns also stored sand particles and post them towards the center of the circle which served as a real nest. When the mating is completed, and the eggs hatch, the nests are abandoned by the males and the process continues.
11) Sea Foam
Sea foam is a kind of foam created because of the agitation of seawater. It particularly happens when seawater contains higher concentrations of organic matter dissolved in it. This organic matter may come from sources such as algal blooms. Other organic matter maybe proteins, fats, pollutants, detergents, etc present in the water body. Sea form is also called as ocean foam, beach foam or spume.
If we collect this kind of seawater in a glass and shake it vigorously, we will observe small bubbles forming on the surface of the liquid.
Sea form is actually a normal phenomenon and not harmful in any way. However, in the case of algal decay on a grand scale, this sea foam thickens. This can have a harmful impact on human health as well as the environment.
12) Red Tides
Red tides are phenomena caused by algal blooms. In this, the algal blooms become so large in number that coastal waters get discolored by them. This may also cause a depletion of oxygen in the ocean waters other releases of toxins that are harmful to human health and the environment.
Some of the main factors that cause red tides are an increase in ocean surface temperatures, high nutrient contents, calm seas, sunny days after rain and winds, currents or ships which may carry these tides over long distances.
Some of the many countries affected by this phenomenon include Canada, England, Australia, France, India, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, United States, Sweden, Spain etc.
Red tides are harmful because they release toxins in the ocean water. They may also trigger processes like biomagnification or bioaccumulation. They are harmful for aquatic life. give me also spread diseases in human beings such as food poisoning.
Currently, researchers are trying to develop an antidote to the toxins caused by red tides.
References:
- http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2013/08/15/underwater-crop-circles-mystery-solved/
- https://www.theactivetimes.com/travel/these-mysteries-seas-will-shock-you/slide-9
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash
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