Ocean Mysteries

[GordMay]

“7 ocean mysteries scientists haven’t solved yet” ~ by Brian Resnick
And the adventures scientists go on to better understand our enigmatic seas.
Where is plastic pollution in the ocean hiding, and how does it get there?
Why do whales strand themselves on beaches? And are humans to blame?
Can a human really be friends with an octopus?
How many fish live in the ocean’s mysterious “twilight zone”?
Why do so many sea creatures glow?
Only 20 percent of the ocean floor has been mapped. What’s down there?
Can we drill through the seafloor, to the mantle of the Earth? [See also 1]
Also, check out the “Further reading”, included /w each segment.
More ➥ https://www.vox.com/science-and-heal...inable-podcast

Podcast* ➥ https://link.chtbl.com/unexplainablepod

* “Unexplainable” is a Vox Media Podcast Network science show about everything we don’t know. Host Noam Hassenfeld is joined by an array of experts and Vox reporters each week to look at the most fascinating unanswered questions in science and the mind-bending ways scientists are trying to answer them. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
➥ https://www.vox.com/unexplainable

[1] “Fusion tech is set to unlock near-limitless, ultra-deep, geothermal energy”

Originally Posted by GordMay

”...If we dig deep enough, we can harness the geothermal energy, with power densities consistent with fossil fuels, and we could put geothermal power stations just about anywhere we wanted them, and/or re-power existing fossil-fueled power plants.

Quaise, a startup born from research at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, is pioneering a new type of energy drilling system, in order to reach the depths necessary to exploit the largest source of power-dense clean energy on Earth.

Quaise plans to drill holes up to 20 km (12.4 miles) deep, in about 100 days. At these depths, Quaise expects to find temperatures around 500 °C (932 °F), which is well past the point where geothermal energy takes a massive leap in efficiency...”

Here ➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3591958


and:
“Quaise Inc. drilling technology could allow geothermal to power the world”
➥ 资æº�环境科技å�‘展æ€�势分æž�å¹³å�°(GSTDTAP ): Quaise Inc. drilling technology could allow geothermal to power the world

[GordMay]

Seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is below the ocean, but although the ocean has been mapped, only large details (of three miles or more in length) can be properly seen – this means that 95% of our oceans remain hidden.
It’s little wonder, then, that the oceans continue to throw up surprises.
Recent discoveries have included a new shark (Genie’s dogfish)[1] and perhaps the longest animal ever recorded – a 47-metre-long Apolemia (jellyfish)[2], discovered earlier this year by Australian scientists.
[1] ➥ http://www.sci-news.com/biology/geni...kae-06213.html
[2] ➥ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ean-180974647/


Glacial Mysteries:

The Baltic Sea Anomaly
In 2011, a group of divers, looking for treasure and salvage in the Baltic Sea, took a sonar image of a 70-metre-long, and steely-looking object, lying 300 feet below sea level.
Some claimed that ‘The Baltic Sea Anomaly’, as it came to be known, was a UFO, its resemblance to the Millennium Falcon, in “Star Wars” fueling that speculation. Others said it was the remains of a lost city.
When scientists looked further into the anomaly, they came to the conclusion that it was a huge glacial deposit, left over from the thawing glaciers, that carved out much of the Baltic Sea basin.

The eerie 'Bloop’ was once thought to originate from a whale
It sounds like a horror movie monster, but ‘The Bloop’ was actually an ultra-low-frequency, high amplitude underwater sound. Detected by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in 1997, the sound was loud, unprecedented, and eerie.
Explanations offered included covert underwater military exercises, whales, giant squids or a totally unknown sea creature.
However, it seems glaciers were once again the culprit, with the sound judged to be consistent with ice calving, where large chunks of ice break off a glacier.
➥ https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bloo...solved-sort-of

[GordMay]

The submarine disappearances of 1968:
Four separate submarines went inexplicably missing in the SAME exact year.
These were the USS “Scorpion”[1], a Soviet submarine “K-129"[2], a French submarine “Minerve”[3], and the INS “Dakar”[4].
The last two subs disappeared only four days apart. The “Minerve” wasn’t found until 1999, even though it only disappeared an hour away from its home port, and the cause of the sinking is still a mystery.
Is it just coincidence that four giant machines would all have misfortunes the same year [yes], or is it something more sinister? [no]

[1] ➥ https://www.historynet.com/final-secret-uss-scorpion/

[2] ➥ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...law-180972154/

[3] ➥ https://www.france24.com/en/20190722...nean-lost-1968

[4] ➥ https://israeled.org/submarine-dakar...ter-3-decades/

[GordMay]

The world’s largest waterfall is IN/UNDER the ocean

Earth’s largest waterfall is actually underwater, in the Denmark Strait, where colder/denser water tumbles over a huge drop in the ocean floor, falling 11,500 feet (the largest land waterfall is only 3,212 feet).

More about ➥ https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/...waterfall.html

[SailOar]

Elusive bronze-scaled ‘dragon’ of the deep caught on video off California coast

For three decades, researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have scoured the bay's depths with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), finding many wondrous beasties, including several species of dragonfish. However, the highfin dragonfish has proven to be the most elusive. This particular fish was found at a depth of 980 feet (300 meters), according to TK.

[Don C L]

This is a great topic. Thanks Gord!

[SailRN]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The submarine disappearances of 1968:
Four separate submarines went inexplicably missing in the SAME exact year.
These were the USS “Scorpion”[1], a Soviet submarine “K-129"[2],/

The men covering up the loss of the Scorpion were and are a disgrace to their country and their uniform.

[GordMay]

Marine Life / Ocean Facts

The ocean is home to nearly 80% of all life
While humans love to think we’re the center of the world, and even as our overpopulation becomes a real problem, the fact remains that our oceans cover 70% [and rising*] of Earth’s surface, and thus majority of life is aquatic. An estimated 50-80% [or more] of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface, and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet.

The world’s longest mountain range is underwater
Earth’s longest mountain range is the Mid-Ocean Ridge, more than 50,000 km [65,000 km?] in length, which winds around the globe from the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic, skirting Africa, Asia and Australia, and crossing the Pacific to the west coast of North America. It is four times longer than the Andes, Rockies, and Himalayas combined.

Much more ➥ https://www.marinebio.org/creatures/facts/
* The sea level has risen, with an average of 10-25 cm, over the past 100 years, and scientists expect this rate to increase. Sea levels will continue rising, even if the climate has stabilized, because the ocean reacts slowly to changes. 10,000 years ago, the ocean level was about 110 m lower than it is now. If all the world’s ice melted, the oceans would rise 66 m.

[Bill O]

Good stuff Gord, keep them coming!!

[GordMay]

“52 Blue” The Loneliest Whale
When the U.S. Navy gave scientists access to a network of hydrophones, built in the 1950s, to eavesdrop on Soviet subs, researchers discovered a surprising song. It followed a beat (and migratory path) reminiscent of a blue or fin whale.

But while those species bellow at pitches of about 15 to 25 Hz, the new notes hit 52 Hz—only about as low as a tuba can manage.
William Watkins, the marine mammal researcher who discovered the singular singer, named “52", and listened to it for 12 years, died in 2004. But the search picked up again, when sensors heard a similar call in 2010.

Was this the original swimmer, or a sign that Watkins’ musical mutant wasn’t so lonely after all?
Researchers remain stumped.

More about ➥ https://www.scientificamerican.com/p...neliest-whale/

And ➥ https://youtu.be/Mm674DfbXO8

The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 ➥ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401814/

The study:
“Twelve years of tracking 52-Hz whale calls from a unique source in the North Pacific” ~ William A. Watkins et al
➥ https://www.researchgate.net/publica..._North_Pacific
➥ https://www.researchgate.net/profile...ication_detail

[bensolomon]

There is an awesome documentary made about this. A great watch!!

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

There is an awesome documentary made about this. A great watch!!

There are several, including:
"The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52" ➥ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401814/