What are the holes and how did they appear? That is the question being asked by so many speculating the creation of the mysterious oceanic holes spaced at least 4 inches apart and extending to more than six feet.
On July 23rd, while diving at a depth of 1.6 miles north of the Azores, near Portugal’s mainland, marine biologists sighted a dozen sets of holes arranged in a track of lines.
Five days later, divers sighted four more holes located at the Azores Plateau, an oceanic plateau where the North American, Eurasian, and African Plates intersect. The holes were about a mile deep and approximately 300 miles away from the first discovery of the unusual phenomenon.
Almost two decades before the current expedition’s initial sighting, Emily Crum, an NOAA spokeswoman, said scientists observed similar-looking holes.
Even though scientists are unsure of the origin of the holes, they have seen similar markings created from sediment by living organisms called “lebensspuren,” known as “life traces” in German.
However, the question regarding the genesis of the holes still lingers. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration project posted on Twitter saying, “The origin of the holes has scientists stumped. The holes look human made, but the little piles of sediment around them suggest they were excavated by … something.”
Michael Vecchione, an NOAA deep-sea biologist, said “There is something important going on there and we don’t know what it is. This highlights the fact that there are still mysteries out there.”
In a paper published in 2004 about the sighting of the mysterious holes, Dr. Vecchione and his co-author Odd Aksel Bergstad, a researcher who worked at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, hypothesized that the holes may exist because marine life either created the holes by walking or swimming above the holes or burrowing inside the sediment.
After further research and investigation, Dr. Vecchione said that the holes observed on July 28th appear to have originated from underneath the oceanic surface.
To prove this hypothesis, the Deep Discoverer, a remotely controlled vehicle, was launched to collect sediment samples to determine if an organism inhabited the holes. Despite being able to encounter the holes, Dr. Vecchione continues to look for an answer. “It reinforces the idea that there is a mystery that some day we will figure out, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”
In the past, time has not gotten scientists closer to solving the enigma; however, the new advances in the expedition give hope to researchers that they’ll soon be able to unveil the origin.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/science/holes-ocean-floor-mystery.html
On July 23rd, while diving at a depth of 1.6 miles north of the Azores, near Portugal’s mainland, marine biologists sighted a dozen sets of holes arranged in a track of lines.
Five days later, divers sighted four more holes located at the Azores Plateau, an oceanic plateau where the North American, Eurasian, and African Plates intersect. The holes were about a mile deep and approximately 300 miles away from the first discovery of the unusual phenomenon.
Almost two decades before the current expedition’s initial sighting, Emily Crum, an NOAA spokeswoman, said scientists observed similar-looking holes.
Even though scientists are unsure of the origin of the holes, they have seen similar markings created from sediment by living organisms called “lebensspuren,” known as “life traces” in German.
However, the question regarding the genesis of the holes still lingers. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration project posted on Twitter saying, “The origin of the holes has scientists stumped. The holes look human made, but the little piles of sediment around them suggest they were excavated by … something.”
Michael Vecchione, an NOAA deep-sea biologist, said “There is something important going on there and we don’t know what it is. This highlights the fact that there are still mysteries out there.”
In a paper published in 2004 about the sighting of the mysterious holes, Dr. Vecchione and his co-author Odd Aksel Bergstad, a researcher who worked at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, hypothesized that the holes may exist because marine life either created the holes by walking or swimming above the holes or burrowing inside the sediment.
After further research and investigation, Dr. Vecchione said that the holes observed on July 28th appear to have originated from underneath the oceanic surface.
To prove this hypothesis, the Deep Discoverer, a remotely controlled vehicle, was launched to collect sediment samples to determine if an organism inhabited the holes. Despite being able to encounter the holes, Dr. Vecchione continues to look for an answer. “It reinforces the idea that there is a mystery that some day we will figure out, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”
In the past, time has not gotten scientists closer to solving the enigma; however, the new advances in the expedition give hope to researchers that they’ll soon be able to unveil the origin.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/science/holes-ocean-floor-mystery.html
