On July 23, researchers found a set of holes in the sand 1.6 miles under sea level near Portugal’s mainland. A week later, more holes were spotted 300 miles away from the first sighting. They were about the same depth underwater.
Arranged in a straight line, the uniform holes are around 4 inches apart and can stretch across 6 feet or more. The scientists call the strange holes “lebensspuren,” which translates to “life traces” in German, because they believe a living organism created them. However, this is all speculation. No one knows their function or what created them.
“The origin of the holes has scientists stumped,” a Twitter post from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration project said. “The holes look human made, but the little piles of sediment around them suggest they were excavated by…something.”
According to Emily Crum, a NOAA spokesperson, explorers uncovered similar holes 18 years ago near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a deep-ocean mountain range that extends over 10,000 miles. The older holes are around 27 miles away from the sighting from two weeks ago. Despite having almost two decades to study them, scientists have failed to draw any final conclusions about their origins, only vague guesses and theories.
Michael Vecchione, a NOAA marine biologist, and Odd Aksel Bergstad, a former scientist at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, came up with two main hypothesizes in 2004. Either an organism was under the sea floor and poking up, or they were on top of the sand and pushing holes down. The recently discovered holes show evidence for the first hypothesis.
Without any concrete theories, researchers asked social media for their thoughts. The comments quickly filled up with wild guesses: Were the holes created by humans? Or maybe aliens? Are they from a submarine? Are they used for breathing?
NOAA intends to find the answer through Voyage to the Ridge 2022, a series of three expeditions that started in May and will end in September. They will take place near Rhode Island, Azores, and then Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. The project’s goal extends past mysterious holes and primarily aims to study life around underwater volcanoes. They want to focus on corals and sponges which are “some of the most valuable marine ecosystems on Earth,” Derek Sowers, a NOAA expedition coordinator, said.
Humans have explored less than 20 percent of the ocean, leaving over 80 percent open to speculation. While scientists already know plenty about corals and sponges, there is always more to discover. Science is a vast field that changes all the time. Humans uncover new discoveries, such as deep-sea holes, every day. There are numerous mysteries that lie in the dark, waiting to be revealed.
“There is something important going on there and we don’t know what it is,” Dr. Vecchione said. “This highlights the fact that there are still mysteries out there.”
Arranged in a straight line, the uniform holes are around 4 inches apart and can stretch across 6 feet or more. The scientists call the strange holes “lebensspuren,” which translates to “life traces” in German, because they believe a living organism created them. However, this is all speculation. No one knows their function or what created them.
“The origin of the holes has scientists stumped,” a Twitter post from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration project said. “The holes look human made, but the little piles of sediment around them suggest they were excavated by…something.”
According to Emily Crum, a NOAA spokesperson, explorers uncovered similar holes 18 years ago near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a deep-ocean mountain range that extends over 10,000 miles. The older holes are around 27 miles away from the sighting from two weeks ago. Despite having almost two decades to study them, scientists have failed to draw any final conclusions about their origins, only vague guesses and theories.
Michael Vecchione, a NOAA marine biologist, and Odd Aksel Bergstad, a former scientist at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, came up with two main hypothesizes in 2004. Either an organism was under the sea floor and poking up, or they were on top of the sand and pushing holes down. The recently discovered holes show evidence for the first hypothesis.
Without any concrete theories, researchers asked social media for their thoughts. The comments quickly filled up with wild guesses: Were the holes created by humans? Or maybe aliens? Are they from a submarine? Are they used for breathing?
NOAA intends to find the answer through Voyage to the Ridge 2022, a series of three expeditions that started in May and will end in September. They will take place near Rhode Island, Azores, and then Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. The project’s goal extends past mysterious holes and primarily aims to study life around underwater volcanoes. They want to focus on corals and sponges which are “some of the most valuable marine ecosystems on Earth,” Derek Sowers, a NOAA expedition coordinator, said.
Humans have explored less than 20 percent of the ocean, leaving over 80 percent open to speculation. While scientists already know plenty about corals and sponges, there is always more to discover. Science is a vast field that changes all the time. Humans uncover new discoveries, such as deep-sea holes, every day. There are numerous mysteries that lie in the dark, waiting to be revealed.
“There is something important going on there and we don’t know what it is,” Dr. Vecchione said. “This highlights the fact that there are still mysteries out there.”