Boundless expanses of water at all times attracted and frightened people at the same time. Brave sailors set out to travel in search of the unknown. Many mysteries of the oceans remain unsolved today. It is not for nothing that one can hear from scientists that the hydrosphere is less studied than the surface of the natural satellite of the Earth. There is some truth in this, because the degree of knowledge of the world's oceans does not exceed 5%.
Ocean Exploration
Exploration of the deep sea began much earlier than the exploration of space and distant galaxies. Devices were created that could lower a person to a considerable depth. Underwater imaging technologies and robotic systems have evolved. The area of the oceans and its depths are so large that many types of bathyscaphes have been designed to study them.
After the first manned flight into outer space in 1961, scientists threw all their efforts into the study of the Universe. The secrets of the oceans faded into the background, because getting to them seemed much more difficult. Launched programs for the study of the seas were frozen or reduced.
Interesting phenomena
Researchers have received information about the existence of underwater rivers at the bottom of the oceans. Various compounds of hydrocarbons exit under the water column through cracks in the earth's crust, mix with it and move. This phenomenon is referred to as "cold seepage". However, the temperature of the gases is not lower than that of the surrounding water.
Underwater rivers are not the only interesting phenomenon. The area of the oceans is so large that a lot of mystery is hidden under it. 7 underwater waterfalls were found on the seabed, larger than known analogs on land. This strange movement of the waters is caused by a number of reasons:
- different temperatures of water masses;
- distinguishing salinity;
- presence of a complex topography of the bottom surface.
The combination of all these factors causes the movement of water with greater density, which rushes down.
Milky seas and false bottom
Glow-in-the-dark expanses of the ocean have been nicknamed "milky seas". Researchers have repeatedly recorded such phenomena on film. There are many hypotheses that seek to explain their essence, but no one can name the exact cause of the glow of the waters. According to one of them, the "milky seas" are a huge accumulation of luminescent microorganisms. Some ocean fish also have the property of glowing in the dark.
False bottom is another mysterious phenomenon that science sometimes encounters. The first mention of it dates back to 1942, when scientists using echolocators noticed at a depth of 4 hundredmeters is an unusual layer that reflects acoustic signals. Further studies have established that this layer rises to the surface of the water at night, and sinks again at dawn. The guesses of scientists were confirmed, this phenomenon was created by the animals of the ocean - squids. Sunlight is unpleasant for them and they hide from it at great depths. Dense clusters of these organisms do not transmit sound waves.
Acoustic equipment also captures strange sound waves emanating from the seabed. They were discovered in the early 90s of the XX century. After some time, the devices stopped recording this phenomenon. Once again, the sounds appeared ten years later, becoming louder and more diverse. Scientists are unable to pinpoint their source and cause.
Bermuda Triangle
There are other secrets of the oceans that cause panic fear in the common man. In certain places, aircraft and sea vessels along with people disappear without a trace, giant whirlpools appear and shining circles are visible. Many have heard of the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, in which all of these phenomena are observed. The area of the zone is about 1 million km2. The rumor about this mysterious area went after the disappearance of military aircraft in 1945. They managed to transmit information that they had lost their orientation in space. Dozens of similar cases have occurred since then.
These phenomena have been investigated, various theories have been put forward trying to explain them. Many of them are pseudoscientific and cannot be taken seriously. One of the mostreliable was voiced by D. Monaghan. He saw the cause in the accumulations of hydrocarbon and other gases in a solid state near the ocean floor. The ongoing tectonic processes had an impact on them. As a result, the substances turned into a gaseous state and collected at the surface of the water.
Ships sank as the density of the water decreased significantly. Planes lost their orientation under the influence of gases. The movement of hydrocarbons in water creates infrasound, which causes a person to panic. Such fear could force the entire crew to hastily leave the ship. This is not the only mysterious zone in the vast expanses of water. What other secrets of the oceans scientists have to unravel, one can only guess.
Bizarre world
A wide variety of organisms with an unusual appearance live under water. Some of them are poisonous, others are harmless. An incredible variety of sizes and shapes, as well as unusual devices with which ocean animals camouflage or hunt. Among the most mysterious is a huge octopus 13 m long. This inhabitant of the underwater world got into the camera lens recently. According to some reports, its size can be much larger, up to 18 m. Only sperm whales and polar sharks are equal in strength to it.
The depths of the sea have many invertebrate inhabitants and microorganisms, which literally dotted the bottom. Food for them is organic matter, which falls on them from above. The problems of the ocean are solved by its inhabitants themselves, for example, the issue of recyclingremnants of living organisms. Exploring the features of the oceans, scientists have discovered a bacterium that lives deep under its bottom. She lives under a three hundred meter sedimentary layer for many millions of years.
Corals
Corals living at depths of up to 6 km are a very interesting sight. Under such a layer of water, the temperature does not rise above +2ºC. Their splendor is not inferior to those that we see in the shallow waters of tropical seas. The life of these organisms proceeds slowly, and the range is very large.
Understand the degree of their spread only after the use of trawls. Ocean fish began to be caught by such a barbaric method that destroys the bottom eco-structure. Not far from Norway, the largest place of their settlement was discovered. It has an area of over 100 km2.
Hydrothermal wonders
One of the ecosystems was discovered by scientists in the area of hot underwater springs, where boiling water breaks out from under the earth's crust into the ocean. The territory is simply teeming with a variety of invertebrates and microorganisms. Among them there are also different types of fish. Bacteria found capable of living in 121ºC water streams.
The world's oceans cover 70% of our planet's surface. Scientists have discovered many interesting and mysterious phenomena in its thickness. However, the main mysteries of the oceans have yet to be unraveled.
