A series of holes found on the sea floor along a volcanic ridge deep in the Atlantic Ocean has scientists scrambling for answers. No one knows the origin of these holes at a depth of 2,540 feet. The ocean is one of the least explored areas of the planet, which not only holds the secrets of life, but also unique flora and fauna that thrive in freezing conditions at depths where the pressure is enough to kill you in seconds. We know more about the moon than we do about the oceans, and a new mystery is puzzling marine scientists. While the holes look human-like, the team that observed them on the ocean floor say the piles of sediment around them indicate they were excavated. Marine researchers during the Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition tried to look into them, but were unsuccessful.
The team has now started a discussion on social media and invited experts from around the world to give their opinion. “On Saturday’s #Okeanos dive, we saw several sub-linear sets of holes on the sea floor. Scientists doubted the origin of the holes. The holes look human, but the small piles of sediment around them indicate they were excavated by… something. What’s YOUR hypothesis?” they asked. They get a wide range of opinions from aliens to an unknown species of crab to gas rising from the sea floor. The NOAA Ocean Exploration organization claims that this is not the first time that scientists have found such unique holes. In July 2004, during a survey at a depth of 2,082 meters (6,831 ft) during an expedition along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, several such sets of holes were also seen. The scientists then highlighted in the paper these unique carvings and how these unusual holes point to gaps that exist in our basic understanding of mid-ocean ridge ecosystems. They called these holes “lebensspuren”, which means “traces of life” in German.
“The ultimate origin of the holes still remains a mystery, and the true unknowns we encounter are often as deep and mysterious as the ocean itself. But with each expedition to map and explore the deep ocean, we learn more about this ecosystem that is so vital.” to all our lives,” the team said in a statement. It will be interesting to see what marine experts make of these holes, whether they are an opening to much greater depths below the surface or something that could push marine science in a new direction.
For more read: https://earthsky.org/earth/weird-holes-azores-atlantic-ocean-noaa/
