Earth’s largest blue hole has been found, but its exact depth is still unknown.

Earth’s largest blue hole has been found, but its exact depth is still unknown.

In addition to occurring on land, sinkholes can also occur in the ocean, where they are referred to as blue holes. And now, scientists claim to have discovered the planet’s deepest one yet, one so big that they are unable to reach the bottom.

It’s the Taam Ja’ Blue Hole in Chetumal Bay, Mexico; it was formerly believed to be the second-deepest known blue hole in the world. However, as researchers revealed in a paper that was released on Monday in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, scuba divers returned to the location at the beginning of December to have a closer look and discovered it to be much larger than initially believed.

“The TJBH is now the deepest blue hole discovered to date, exhibiting water depths surpassing 420 mbsl [meters below sea level], with its bottom yet to be reached,” the authors wrote in the report. The newly discovered depth falls into the mesopelagic zone, also referred to as the twilight zone because of the dramatic decrease in sunlight in this layer, which is slightly over a quarter of a mile below sea level.
Taam Ja’s depth was previously estimated to be about 274 mbsl based on the researchers’ use of an echo sounder, a device that measures sound wave travel distance. However, such approach has limitations because water density can change and blue hole shapes are unpredictable.

This time, they employed a technique called SWiFT CTD, which provides more accurate underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements. But the device was unable to penetrate all the way to Taam Ja’s bottom.
The updated size puts it well below the depths of other known underwater sinkholes, including the roughly 301 mbsl Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in the South China Sea, the roughly 202 mbsl Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, and the approximately 130 mbsl Dahab Blue Hole in Egypt.
As strange as they may sound, NOAA claims that every blue hole might serve as an “oasis in an otherwise barren seafloor.”

According to NOAA, “blue holes are diverse biological communities full of marine life, including corals, sponges, mollusks, sea turtles, sharks, and more.” However, due to their general inaccessibility and lack of documented distribution, little is known about these locations.
“The opening of a blue hole can be several hundred feet underwater, and for many holes, the opening is too small for an automated submersible,” according to NOAA. “In fact, the first reports of blue holes did not come from scientists or researchers, but actually came from fishermen and recreational divers.”

read also : Viewpoint: Regarding UFOs, the Pentagon is lying. 2024

Planet’s deepest blue hole discovered but depth remains a mystery (msn.com)

This time, they employed a technique called SWiFT CTD, which provides more accurate underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements. But the device was unable to penetrate all the way to Taam Ja’s bottom.

This time, they employed a technique called SWiFT CTD, which provides more accurate underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements. But the device was unable to penetrate all the way to Taam Ja’s bottom.

This time, they employed a technique called SWiFT CTD, which provides more accurate underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements. But the device was unable to penetrate all the way to Taam Ja’s bottom.

This time, they employed a technique called SWiFT CTD, which provides more accurate underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements. But the device was unable to penetrate all the way to Taam Ja’s bottom.

This time, they employed a technique called SWiFT CTD, which provides more accurate underwater conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements. But the device was unable to penetrate all the way to Taam Ja’s bottom.