Scientists Don’t Know Why There are Holes on the Ocean Floor
In the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean, sea explorers found a pattern of holes in the
sand in largely unknown areas along a volcanic ridge at the bottom of the ocean. Similar
openings on the seafloor were first spotted 18 years ago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Scientists still do not know the origins and are asking the public for their insight.
On July 23, during the dive north of Azores, near Portugal’s mainland, they saw dozens
of black holes that resembled lines across the ocean floor, about 1.6 miles in depth. About a
week later on Thursday, four more sightings at the Azores Plateau, where three tectonic plates meet, found holes which were about a mile deep and 300 miles away from the initial discoveries.
“The origin of the holes has scientists stumped,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Ocean Exploration project tweeted. They suspected them to be “lebensspuren”, which is German for “life traces”, referring to impressions in sediments which could be the work of living animals. “The holes look human made, but the little piles of sediment around them suggest they were excavated by … something,” messaged the project.
“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.”
Explorers from NOAA are seeking answers during the three expeditions called Voyage to
the Ridge 2022, where they want to find what lives along underwater volcanoes and discover
what will happen if the life-supporting heat from geological processes are stopped. Dr. Sowers said that these expeditions are fundamental to establishing a better understanding of biodiversity and “the novel compounds produced by all of these life-forms.”
“This has expanded our understanding of under what conditions life on other planets may
occur,” Dr. Sowers said.
One last dive is yet to be carried out in the second expedition of the series. It will be
live streamed, and the third one will begin on August 7.
In the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean, sea explorers found a pattern of holes in the
sand in largely unknown areas along a volcanic ridge at the bottom of the ocean. Similar
openings on the seafloor were first spotted 18 years ago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Scientists still do not know the origins and are asking the public for their insight.
On July 23, during the dive north of Azores, near Portugal’s mainland, they saw dozens
of black holes that resembled lines across the ocean floor, about 1.6 miles in depth. About a
week later on Thursday, four more sightings at the Azores Plateau, where three tectonic plates meet, found holes which were about a mile deep and 300 miles away from the initial discoveries.
“The origin of the holes has scientists stumped,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Ocean Exploration project tweeted. They suspected them to be “lebensspuren”, which is German for “life traces”, referring to impressions in sediments which could be the work of living animals. “The holes look human made, but the little piles of sediment around them suggest they were excavated by … something,” messaged the project.
“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.”
Explorers from NOAA are seeking answers during the three expeditions called Voyage to
the Ridge 2022, where they want to find what lives along underwater volcanoes and discover
what will happen if the life-supporting heat from geological processes are stopped. Dr. Sowers said that these expeditions are fundamental to establishing a better understanding of biodiversity and “the novel compounds produced by all of these life-forms.”
“This has expanded our understanding of under what conditions life on other planets may
occur,” Dr. Sowers said.
One last dive is yet to be carried out in the second expedition of the series. It will be
live streamed, and the third one will begin on August 7.
