Buzz
Far beneath the waves, the ocean is much more than a shadowy expanse. The underwater world holds remnants of ancient events, peculiar animal behaviors, and expansive gardens filled with glass and octopuses.
Each new discovery adds intriguing facts and mysteries to this captivating underwater realm. But the ocean isn't all wonder—it also has a terrifying side, from altering weather patterns on land to creating massive craters in the seafloor and even affecting entire nations.
10. The Noisiest Fish
It may seem strange to associate fish with sound, as many species are silent creatures. However, there is one that makes quite a racket during mating season. The Gulf corvina, a large silver fish roughly the size of a snowboard, is known for its loud calls.
In spring, when the tides align with the lunar phases, large groups of fish make their way to the Colorado River Delta. This spectacle is a sight to behold, as the corvinas converge in vast shoals that can stretch for miles.
In 2014, researchers tracked the spawning shoal, equipping them with underwater gear to capture their sounds. The loudest noise recorded during the study reached an astonishing 150 decibels, setting a new record for fish.
This sound is not only among the loudest ever documented underwater, but it also has the potential to harm the hearing of other marine creatures, including sea mammals. Scientists believe male corvinas are behind the booming chorus, much like frogs and crickets, with the males croaking deeply to attract females.
9. The Return Of The Blob
The 'blob' is far from the cute image its name suggests. This vast anomaly, a patch of warm water in the Northeast Pacific, has a significant impact on the weather, causing extreme shifts. It was held responsible for the prolonged California drought (2013–2015), Seattle's record-breaking heat in 2015, and the strange polar vortex events in winters 2013–2014 and 2014–2015.
In 2018, the resurgence of this oceanic hot spot was triggered by unseasonably warm weather in Alaska during the fall. While the blob is notoriously unpredictable, its 'moods' remain elusive and difficult to forecast.
When the blob reappeared in 2016, it displayed early signs of potential trouble but faded before any real consequences could be felt. The most recent occurrence seems to be weakening in a similar fashion, though even experts acknowledge that predicting its behavior is never certain.
Regardless of its future course, Alaska has already endured significant repercussions. The southeastern rainforests are experiencing a prolonged drought, and snowfall has been delayed to record levels.
8. The Rectangular Iceberg
In 2018, an extraordinary photograph turned an iceberg into a sensation on social media. Unlike the typical towering ice masses, this one was almost perfectly flat and rectangular.
As it turns out, this shape is not unique. Known as 'tabular icebergs,' they are created when chunks break off from a larger iceberg during calving. These rectangular shapes usually emerge when an ice shelf extends too far and fractures at its edge, forming a neat geometric form.
A striking 90 percent of a tabular iceberg lies submerged beneath the water, and this hidden portion typically maintains the same angular structure. In this case, the iceberg originated from the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Although these floating 'tabletops' are well-known to scientists, this particular one was quite unique. For once, it was almost square in shape. While the precise dimensions remain unclear, estimates suggest it could stretch as far as 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) in length.
7. The World's Largest Octopus Nursery
Most octopuses are solitary creatures, so the discovery of around 100 nesting together near Costa Rica was an exciting find. However, this nursery would soon be overshadowed by an even larger one found by accident in 2018.
Off the coast of California, marine biologists piloted a remotely operated vehicle to a depth of 3.2 kilometers (2 miles), aiming to study an underwater volcano known as the Davidson Seamount.
As the vehicle rounded a corner, it stumbled upon the world’s largest deep-sea octopus garden. The species, Muusoctopus robustus, was found in massive clusters, with over 1,000 individuals gathered together. Nearly 99 percent of them were females tending to eggs nestled between the volcanic cracks.
The gathering of these octopuses raises many questions, and the reason why the water appears to shimmer around them remains a mystery that researchers are still trying to unravel.
One theory suggests that the shimmering effect is caused by heat, which might explain why these creatures congregated around the Davidson Seamount to incubate their eggs successfully. Since the volcano is extinct, the heat could be originating from an unknown source beneath the surface.
6. The Canyon That Absorbs CO2
The Porcupine Bank Canyon, an underwater trench on the edge of Ireland’s continental shelf, became the focus of a mapping project in 2018. While studying the dramatic cliffs and contours of the canyon, the research drone made a groundbreaking discovery: This underwater trench removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, thanks to two species and the process of death.
The Porcupine Bank is surrounded by corals feeding on decaying plankton. While alive, plankton gather CO2 from the atmosphere and grow by absorbing it into their bodies. When they die, they sink to the ocean floor, taking the CO2 with them.
The corals consume the plankton and use the carbon from it to construct their own structures. When the coral dies, it falls deeper into the canyon. Researchers discovered a vast accumulation of dead coral within the canyon, each piece containing CO2 locked inside.
Unfortunately, this process can't halt climate change. However, it does reveal that nature has mechanisms for removing some greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
5. The Garden of Glass
When the deepest volcano was uncovered in 2015, it wasn’t just a low-lying cone-shaped mountain. It defied expectations in both its appearance and the environment it harbored. A deep-sea submersible exploring the Mariana Trough in the Pacific Ocean descended to 4,500 meters (14,700 feet) and encountered an otherworldly setting that seemed right out of a Gothic novel.
An underwater volcano released tangled, charred lava tendrils, which scientists described as 'a nightmarish garden of glass.' Deep within a 4.5-kilometer-deep (3 mi) trench, cold waters rapidly solidified the lava into a glass-like substance. These frozen formations stretched over an area of 7.3 kilometers (4.5 mi).
The visuals are breathtaking, but what made this discovery truly remarkable was that the eruption was recent. Only a few months old, the untouched site provided an opportunity to expand our understanding of volcanoes on land, the impact of eruptions on ocean chemistry, and the timeline for species colonizing lava fields.
4. The White Shark Café
Once every year, a group of sharks perplexes biologists. These northeastern Pacific great whites typically patrol the California coastline, a region abundant with prey.
In December, the sharks embark on a journey into the Pacific, halting roughly halfway to Hawaii. Satellite data revealed that this area, known as the 'White Shark Café,' appeared to be a marine desert devoid of prey. Yet, the predators gathered in large numbers, remaining through the winter and spring.
In 2018, scientists sought to uncover how the sharks survived in this barren area and what drew them there. They tracked the sharks and tagged several of them. Upon reaching the café, they discovered it teeming with fish, squid, phytoplankton, and jellyfish.
These creatures made daily journeys up and down from the depths. The tagged sharks followed a similar pattern. During the day, they hunted as deep as 450 meters (1,500 ft), while at night, they confined themselves to shallow dives around 200 meters (650 ft).
A puzzling gender-related behavior emerged in April. The male sharks drastically increased their activity, performing up to 140 dives a day. Researchers are still unclear why only the males exhibit this behavior.
3. Brewing Eruption Beneath Japan
Researchers are well aware of the presence of an ancient underwater volcano beneath Japan. The Kikai Caldera is highly prone to super-eruptions and has experienced three catastrophic events in the past, the last of which occurred 7,000 years ago. This eruption was one of the largest in history and decimated a vast portion of the Japanese archipelago.
In 2018, multiple expeditions equipped with various technologies reached the same conclusion: Beneath the Kikai Caldera lies an enormous lava dome. This colossal bubble contains over 32 cubic kilometers (8 mi) of magma.
Further analysis revealed that the lava in the dome was chemically distinct from that of the previous eruption. This indicates that the massive structure is not a remnant of the eruption that devastated the Japanese archipelago, but rather a completely new formation.
For thousands of years, magma has been steadily accumulating in this new reservoir, which scientists interpret as preparation for a future super-eruption. Previous research suggested that the likelihood of a caldera disaster occurring within the next 100 years is about 1 percent.
The revelation of the active dome was far from reassuring. If Kikai were to erupt, a staggering 110 million people could be at risk.
2. Lost Volcanic World
In 2018, scientists explored a seemingly unremarkable subject—the relationship between nutrient levels in the East Australian Current and the behavior of phytoplankton. As part of the study, they mapped the seafloor. This led to an astonishing find: a forgotten volcanic world dominated by towering peaks.
Some of the peaks were sharply pointed, while others appeared as vast plateaus, with smaller cones scattered throughout. Located off the east coast of Australia, these extinct volcanoes rose to 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) in height.
The deep valleys likely played a significant role in how this underwater paradise remained hidden for so long. The tallest mountain peaks were still 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) beneath the ocean's surface.
It takes years of research to fully understand a vast, previously unexplored region. However, scientists are confident in one exciting theory—this area could have been the place where Australia and Antarctica began to drift apart 30 million years ago.
The formation of the volcanic chain was a crucial event that helped tear apart the Earth's crust, paving the way for the continents to separate. The area also harbors a stunning ecosystem, including a massive pod of at least 60 pilot whales.
1. Methane Craters
Recently, researchers explored craters scattered along the seafloor between the Svalbard archipelago and Norway. First discovered in the 1990s, they were few and enormous. However, the team was astounded to uncover hundreds of previously uncharted holes.
Near one of Svalbard’s islands, the seafloor was covered with over 100 craters. Remarkably, these craters had been blasted from solid bedrock. The immense force caused craters as wide as 1,000 meters (3,280 ft). The methane gas from the last ice age was responsible.
In earlier times, vast layers of ice had kept the methane gas trapped. Once the ice melted, explosions occurred. The largest pockets erupted 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, but some pockets remain undisturbed and could potentially create large holes south of Svalbard.
Satellite imagery revealed that most of the craters were preceded by pingos—hills containing ice cores. Researchers believe that these Norwegian pingos were filled with frozen gas instead of regular ice and may have triggered explosions. After recognizing this, scientists discovered 7,000 gas-filled pingos in thawing permafrost.
