Top 10 Amazing Ocean Mysteries and Phenomena

The oceans contain great mysteries within their depths. While many of these mysteries have been explained by scientists and analysts, quite a few unexplained oceanic enigmas still intrigue us.

A variety of mysterious ocean phenomena have also been seen and experienced by sailors around the world.

These various unexplained mysteries of the oceanic domain thus become exciting subjects of discussion and debate.

Some such oceanic enigmas – both solved and unsolved ones – that have been popular topics of verbal analysis can be itemised as follows:

1. Milky Sea Phenomenon

The Milky Sea refers to the unique milky glow of the waters of the Indian Ocean. This ocean phenomenon occurs due to bioluminescent bacterial action, which causes the water to turn blue, which appears to the naked eye as milky white in darkness. The Milky Sea phenomenon has been documented to have existed for over four centuries.

2. Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the light produced by marine creatures as a defence mechanism. When counteracted with atmospheric oxygen, certain chemicals in the creatures’ bodies result in the emergence of bioluminescent light. Know more about Bioluminescence Ocean mystery here. 

3. Convergence of Baltic and North Seas

This oceanic phenomenon has been a highly debated topic. The convergent point of the North and the Baltic Seas occurs in the province of Skagen in Denmark. However, because of the differing rates of densities of the seas’ waters, the sea waters continue to remain separate in spite of their convergence. It is said that this ocean phenomenon is mentioned in the holy Quran.

4. Steaming Black Sea

Called the ‘sea smoke’, the steam arising out of the Black Sea is caused by the humidity of the oceanic water counteracting the coolness of the wind over the water’s surface. Apart from explaining the ocean mystery behind the steam rising from the Black Sea, experts have also proved that the phenomenon is quite common to smaller water bodies.

5. Green Flash

The ocean phenomenon of green flashes occurs during sunset and sunrise. Usually seen for merely a few seconds, such green flashes result from the natural prismatic effect of the earth’s atmosphere. During sunset and sunrise, the light cast by the sun gets diverged into multiple colours, which is seen by the emitting of the green flash.

6. Baltic Sea Anomaly

The Baltic Sea Anomaly was accidentally discovered by a team of diving experts in the year 2011. The divers found a 60-metre thick circular entity nearly at a depth of 90 metres in the Baltic Sea.

A track seemed to lead towards the entity, which the divers measured to be around 300 metres. Though various scientists have offered innumerable suggestions about the entity’s origins, the Baltic Sea anomaly remains one of the world’s unsolved intrigues and ocean mysteries. Learn more about the Baltic Sea Mystery here. 

7. Brinicle

Concentrated salt water escapes from within the ice formed above the ocean’s surface and seeps into the depths of the water. However, once the concentrated salt goes under the water’s surface, on account of natural processes, it freezes and forms into brinicles. Brinicles occur in the frigid oceanic waters around the poles.

8. Red Tide

The occurrence of red tide is technically called ‘Algal Blooming’ by scientists. The ocean phenomenon occurs when there is rapid growth or blooming of algae in the oceanic waters. The presence of red tide is highly dangerous as these algae can be fatal to birds, animals and even humans.

9. Sea Foam

The foaming of the seas is caused by the disturbance to the organisms present on the water surface due to the constant tidal action. Alternatively, in certain cases, seafoam can also be caused by disturbances caused by human activities like the dispelling of waste toxicants into the oceanic water.

10. Underwater Crop Circle

Once regarded to be objects of high intrigue, the underwater crop circles have been explained to be a creative demonstration of pufferfishes’ quests to find their mates. These underwater circles have circumferences of over six feet and are often decorated with shells and other decorative items found at the bottom of the sea. The underwater crop circles were discovered under the waters of the Japanese island of Anami Oshima. Some consider these ocean mysteries as the work of aliens.

Additional Ocean Mystery Mention

Mysterious Julia Sound:

Heard and recorded by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), ‘Julia’ was the spooky sound heard over a 15-second duration in 1999. According to NOAA’s experts, the sound was said to have originated from the Pacific Ocean near the equator and ricocheted from an iceberg being grounded in the Antarctic.

Do you know any other ocean mysteries or phenomena? Let us know in the comments.

You may also like to read –

• Understanding Thermoclines In Ocean Waters
• What Are Tide Pools?
• What is a Mid Ocean Ridge?
• The South Atlantic Anomaly: Understanding the SAA Phenomenon

References: bbc, wikipedia, howstuffworks, inhabitat

Image Credits: dianevarner, postimg, islandpartnershawaii, bobbiblogger, huffpost, coolinterestingstuff, inhabitat

About Author

Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.

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