Secrets of the seas and oceans. Pyramid underwater. Market Uncertainty - Internal Rules

The expanse of the World Ocean covers almost 71% of the earth's surface. However, scientists all over the planet managed to study only one tenth of this vast territory. What mysteries hide the vast expanses of water that have not yet been studied by people?

The fate of the giants

Modern geographers consider five giant water spaces as oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern (Antarctic). The Pacific Ocean ranks first in size - it occupies about 1/3 of the earth's surface. It was called quiet by Ferdinand Magellan, who during the entire time of sailing through its waters did not encounter a single even the slightest bit serious storm. The name has taken root, despite the true nature of the ocean element: strong storms and tsunamis regularly occur there, sending ships to the bottom along with their crews.

The second largest Atlantic Ocean has a no less bad temper. During the hurricane season in Caribbean at least two dozen cyclones with personal names are formed (a name is given to a cyclone if it is accompanied by a wind at a speed of at least 60 kilometers per hour), which destroy the coast North America. In addition, in the Atlantic is the famous Bermuda Triangle- zone of complete disappearance sea ​​vessels and aircraft.

The Indian Ocean is famous for the fact that in 1938 they discovered coelacanth - the most ancient fish on the planet, the same age as dinosaurs. In addition to a living rarity, at the bottom of the ocean there is a mixture of a treasury with a museum: in the era of the Great geographical discoveries thousands of ships plied between Asia and Europe, and many of them, along with their cargo, found their last refuge on ocean floor.

The Arctic Ocean, although much smaller than its huge "brothers", but stores in its depths a quarter of the world's oil reserves. And the ill-fated iceberg that ruined the Titanic, although it met with the liner in the Atlantic, was born precisely in the waters of the Northern Arctic Ocean.

With regard to the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, disputes are ongoing to this day - whether to consider it a separate body of water or only a continuation of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Be that as it may, these places are considered the coldest on the planet. It was there that the most low temperature on the ground -89.2 °С.

Each of the oceans annually brings amazing discoveries to people, but continues to hide an innumerable number of mysteries that, perhaps, will never be solved at all.

The Unprecedented Happens

What most of ocean spaces remains unexplored, is confirmed by the presence of anomalous zones inside them, the action of which cannot be explained from the point of view of modern science. The most famous, but not the only one, is the Bermuda Triangle. Atlantic Ocean. Since 1918, more than 200 cases of the disappearance of ships and aircraft without a trace have been recorded there. The reason for their disappearance is called anything, from the Gulf Stream passing through the triangle, to the sunken Atlantis, the intervention of aliens and an interdimensional portal leading to other dimensions. However, none of the versions has strong evidence to consider it true.

Has its own anomaly pacific ocean- this is the Devil's Sea (it is also the Dragon's triangle, the Devil's, or Formosan, triangle), the exact coordinates of which oceanologists cannot deduce to this day. Since 1955, this territory has been officially recognized as an anomaly zone dangerous for navigation: it is not for nothing that it is also called the cemetery of the Pacific Ocean. The Devil's Sea has swallowed up so many ships that even the frightening glory of the Bermuda Triangle fades next to its reputation. Travelers say that neither whales, nor dolphins, nor other marine life live in the waters of the Dragon's triangle, birds do not fly over it, therefore, it can be really dangerous for people.

Sometimes oceanic anomalous zones are located on land, but, according to experts, their environment generates body of water. One such place is the infamous Palmyra Atoll, located in the Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii. This small group of islands looks like a paradise, but many tragic and mysterious events are associated with it. The name of the atoll was received at the beginning of the 19th century by the name of the ship that crashed near it. Of the entire team, only ten people survived, and by the arrival of the ship that saved them, only three remained alive - they claimed that the island itself had destroyed the rest. For another century and a half, ships were systematically lost off the coast of Palmyra, and in the mid-1940s, an American military garrison was stationed there, which quickly became famous as a place that awakens horror or extreme aggression in soldiers. Once, a German plane was shot down right above the island, but no matter how they searched for its wreckage, they did not even find a screw, as if Palmyra had swallowed up its victim without a trace. Biologists have put forward a hypothesis that the island is a living evil entity that has power over everyone who sets foot on its shore. Today, Palmyra is uninhabited, which can be easily explained by its frightening history.

Kraken and others

Many creepy creatures live in ocean waters, their diversity is understandable - after all, the oceans are home to 4/5 of the species of life that exist on our planet. The name of one of the inhabitants ocean depths- Kraken - has been terrifying to sailors since Antiquity. Until now, there is no consensus on what species this monster should be attributed to - it is considered either a squid, or a cuttlefish, or an octopus. Traditions have been preserved detailed descriptions a monster with superintelligence and giant tentacles, capable of sinking any ship. Legend has it that most of the time, the Kraken slumbers on the ocean floor, waiting for the water to swallow the entire planet, and he can single-handedly rule it. water world. A rare case when science does not argue with legends: cryptozoologists do not exclude that a huge octopus is much older than the first person who appeared on earth, perhaps the last representative of the animal world of antiquity. Its habitat is considered to be the depths of the Arctic Ocean, and the cause of periodic awakenings is the melting of glaciers.

in the waters indian ocean you can meet a giant moray eel (aka Javanese hymnothorax), in addition to a repulsive appearance, with a bad temper, dangerous not only for its “neighbors”, but also for humans. This "beauty" can reach three meters in length and weigh up to 30 kilograms. A smooth body with a light speckled pattern allows her to hide in the stones in anticipation of the victim, catching which, the moray eel immediately swallows it whole.

One of the frightening inhabitants of the Atlantic is the striped catfish, or sea wolf. Scandinavian navigators believed that these fish are able to anticipate the death of the ship, they gather around it in advance in order to feast on human flesh after the wreck. Blue or brown sea wolves have such powerful teeth that neither crab shells nor shells in which mollusks hide are an obstacle for them. Every year, the catfish completely changes its teeth, and until they get stronger, it lies on the bottom and stops hunting. The period of abstinence lasts up to one and a half months, and only then the fish make up for lost time with interest.

300 Flying Dutchmen

No less dangerous than a collision with an ocean predator can be a meeting with the "Flying Dutchman". This is the name of the ghost ship, the crew of which consists of only the dead. Legend has it that they are cursed and must forever wander the seas and oceans, a meeting with such a vessel promises inevitable death to the ships. I must say that the chances of meeting one of these ghosts today have increased considerably - according to various estimates, water alone North Atlantic plow up to 300 ships inhabited by the dead or without a team at all. Most of all they can be found in the remote ocean areas where there are no shipping lanes. It happens that ghost ships are thrown onto the shallows or rocks. But it is much worse if the "dead ships" that do not have running lights collide with ordinary ships - then they really bring death in full accordance with the legend.

History has preserved many evidence of the appearance of these mysterious ships. One of them is dedicated to the sailing ship "Seabird", which at full speed once crashed into the coast near the state of Rhode Island. Boarding the ship locals found that food was boiling in pots in the galley, the table was laid in the saloon, but there was not a soul on the whole ship, except for a frightened dog. At the same time, both the cargo and the documents for it, and the entire ship situation were in perfect order, as if the crew had left the ship a few minutes ago. A whole investigation was carried out about the missing crew, but it did not bring any results.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Marlboro ship was washed up to the shore of Tierra del Fuego by a storm. A real nightmare was happening on board: the desiccated bodies of the crew members lay all over the schooner. The sails and rigging were covered with a layer of mold, but the masts were completely preserved. The investigation found that 24 years ago the ship left Littleton for Glasgow, but never appeared at the port of arrival. It turned out that the sailboat had been drifting along the ocean waves, never hitting a storm or hitting a reef.

Until now, humanity does not know what will bring full information about the oceans. The supposed list of mysteries lurking in the colossal depths is endless. At any moment, the ocean is ready to present its researchers with new amazing or frightening surprises.

The world ocean covers more than 70 percent of the surface of our planet, but we know even less about it than about space. Meanwhile, 80 percent of all life on Earth falls on the underwater world.

The magic of numbers

Cindy Lee Van Dover, director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory, in her eloquent book " New life at the bottom of the ocean" wrote that back side The moon has been studied incommensurably better than the underwater expanses. People cannot even imagine what is hidden under the water column. For example, the Mid-Ocean Ridge is over 70,000 kilometers long, and underwater volcanoes annually they erupt so much lava that it would be enough to cover one third of the territory of Russia with a meter thickness. But the real secret for most people, according to Cindy Lee Van Dover, is that half of all the oxygen in the world is produced by single-celled algae phytoplankton.

quadrillion dollars

More than twenty-seven million tons of gold, which is estimated at a quadrillion dollars, are dissolved in the world's oceans. Mankind has mined only 170 thousand tons in its entire history. In fairness, in sea water, the noble metal is found in the form of gold iodide (AuI), and in microscopic proportions.

However, the American Henry Ball developed a technology for increasing the concentration of gold sediment using quicklime. An even more effective invention was made in Russia by an engineer with the sonorous surname of Russkikh. In other words, the day when ocean gold will be mined on an industrial scale is not far off.

Amazing Creatures

Ocean animal world studied very poorly, but even what we know is amazing. For example, the male squid always greets the female with a warm brown color and scares the male with white. His multi-tasking mating games are especially surprising when he meets both a "woman" and a "rival" at the same time. In this case, the squid will also be colored fragmentarily so as not to change the ritual. And what are the mantis shrimp worth, capable of delivering a blow with their forelimbs, equal in power to the impact force of a 22-caliber bullet.

Godzilla: The Right to Exist

The average depth of the world ocean is 3720 meters, while sunlight penetrates into the depths sea ​​water only 100 meters. This means that the majority underwater world lives in absolute darkness. But all this is a "little thing" compared, for example, with a pressure of 1100 atmospheres, which occurs in the Challenger Abyss of the Mariana Trench (10,994 meters below sea level). Scientists who descended in the Trieste bathyscaphe (1960) saw a lot of terrible fish at its bottom. Other dives have also been sensational, including the discovery of giant teeth that belonged to a prehistoric 100-ton shark. One of the researchers of the Highfish submersible, who also dived into the Challenger Abyss, once said that he would no longer be surprised if a giant Godzilla lizard was discovered.

10 million viruses

Scientists say that the ocean environment is perfect place for the life of the smallest living organisms. So, in one milliliter of sea water in deserted expanses Coral Sea A special device discovered a million bacteria and ten million viruses, many of which are unknown to science. Perhaps it was they who synthesized at the Bolshoi barrier reef the world's most effective natural sunscreen, ideally protecting UVA / UVB rays. Leading chemists from various companies are trying to unravel its formula, but so far without success. Nature knows how to keep its secrets. However, manufacturers of chemical creams purposefully reduce the properties of the coral UV protector.

Atlantis

Many historical secrets are kept in the oceans, as evidenced by artifacts that are found in the most unexpected places of the underwater world. After each such discovery, disputes about Atlantis flare up with new force. And although science has not found confirmation of the treatises Timaeus and Critias, written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato about 2500 years ago, many scientists do not undertake to claim that Atlantis did not exist.

The fact is that mankind managed to examine only 5% of the surface of the world's oceans. “We are yet to find evidence of civilizations that could have disappeared into the depths of the waters,” says Austrian oceanographer and underwater biologist Hans Hass. That is why the ocean is called the world's largest museum.

650 degrees Fahrenheit

Many unusual things have been found in the ocean geographical objects, such as pillars reaching several stories high, or perfect pipes emitting sulfuric acid. For example, at the bottom of the ocean in the vicinity Gulf of Mexico there are underwater volcanoes that emit not lava, but methane. There are also hot springs that shoot out portions of steam, which has a temperature of 650 degrees Fahrenheit. This is enough to melt lead, but amazing animals live there, in particular, three-meter annelids, appearance which resembles foreign creatures from the novels of the most daring science fiction writers.

While many people look into space in awe, they forget that incredible vistas of unexplored wonders may be much closer - in the earth's oceans. As technology improves, the ocean continues to reveal more and more secrets.

1. Large amorphous creature

Recently, a video was posted online showing a giant amorphous blob-like creature swimming near a deep sea drilling rig. The creature pulsed near the underwater cameras for long enough to draw attention to itself. Luminous from the inside, an incredibly huge being constantly fluctuated and changed its shape.

Some suggested that it was a completely unknown creature from the depths of the ocean. Others thought it might be evidence of some kind of alien presence at a depth where humans cannot reach. Most of the researchers said that this is a giant jellyfish that was disturbed by a drilling rig.

2. Crystal pyramid in the depths of the ocean

There are many stories about strange crystal pyramids that were found deep in the ocean, presumably not far from the Bermuda Triangle. Those who insist on the existence of such artifacts claim that most scientists know about them, but deny everything for conspiratorial reasons.

However, the vast majority of researchers insist that these tales of crystal pyramids under the ocean are misleading. Similar stories allegedly began to appear after the scammers announced that they had found a broken piece of crystal, which supposedly had magical properties, near the top of one of these pyramids.

3. The secret of immortality

"Benjamin Button's Medusa" has an incredible unique feature. If they face serious injury or simply reach a respectable age, then these jellyfish can reverse the aging process and turn back into a polyp, starting the life cycle again. This allows them to heal from injuries and live essentially forever, which is currently a great threat to the world's oceans.

Button's jellyfish begin to populate parts of the oceans, breaking the entire balance of marine life. Although many scientists doubt that people can find the reason for the true immortality of jellyfish today, others argue that in the future this will become possible for people. At the very least, this could be a cure for cancer.

4. Atlantis - reality or fiction

Many theories about lost city Atlantis is absolutely wild and fantastic. Some say that Atlantis is located in the Bermuda Triangle, although the legends never mention its presence in that area. Others believe that the domed cities of Atlantis are still preserved deep underwater.

A historian named Bettany Hughes studied ancient myth about Atlantis and realized that Plato, probably under the guise of Atlantis, allegorically described the island of Santorini, located not far from ancient greece. The people who lived in Thera, a city on this island, were very skilled merchants and merchants who benefited from a strategic position between three continents. This allowed them to become very wealthy and lead Feret to prosperity.

Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the island had no idea that they were actually living right on top of the volcano. In 1620 BC the volcano literally exploded with an eruption, and the explosion was so huge that it affected almost the entire world. Plato had almost certainly heard of him. The remains of Feret are perfectly preserved, like famous city Pompeii, also killed by a volcanic eruption.

5. Intelligent life could be much closer

The scientific explanation for the mermaid legend implies that sailors were often at sea for long periods of time without women and drinking frequently, so it is not surprising that they experienced visual hallucinations mistaking manatees for mermaids. However, the ocean is very great place and mostly unexplored. Nobody knows what's going on in the depths. Humans are always looking for intelligent life that looks like humans, but it can look and behave very differently.

6. The main enemy is pressure

Many people are surprised at how incredible amount money is being spent on space exploration when the ocean is right next door and still largely unexplored. They cite for comparison the colossal costs of spacecraft and space stations, believing that the cost of studying the ocean could be ten times less.

In fact, in many ways the problem of studying the ocean is much larger. After all, at a depth of only a couple of kilometers, the pressure becomes simply unimaginable, which is why a completely scanty amount of the deep part of the ocean has been explored so far. If new technologies do not appear at the root, then people will not soon know what is hidden in the oceans of the Earth.

7. The largest earthly creature

Many people have speculated about what kind of sea monsters might be lurking at depths where humans can't reach. Giant squids, which were previously considered a myth, have already been found, which can really reach incredible sizes. In fact, even many normal fish can grow to nightmarishly large sizes under the right conditions in the deep ocean.

It is not surprising that people have been thinking for a long time, what is the biggest and most terrible thing that can live in the depths. Even if you remember the time of the dinosaurs, the largest creature did not exceed the size of the modern blue whale. However, much of the ocean remains unexplored, especially in deeper areas, so no one knows what monstrously huge creatures lurk almost next to people.

8. The ocean is 95 percent unexplored

Some may have heard that the ocean is "95 percent unexplored". Marine biologists consider this to be a very gross oversimplification. Scientists today, using satellites, radar and mathematical calculations, have created a map of the ocean floor with a maximum resolution of 5 kilometers. Although these are still very rough sketches, marine biologists have a pretty good idea of ​​where depressions and depressions are in the ocean. mountain ranges.

However, marine biologist John Copley, while pointing out the fallacy of the meme, also admitted to Scientific American that humans have actually explored far less than 5 percent of the ocean.

9. Methane hydrate - a new source of energy

Methane hydrate - strange crystalline structures of water and methane frozen together. Ever since the discovery of gas hydrate deposits decades ago, governments have begun to seriously explore hydrates as a form of alternative energy.

Methane hydrates are certainly very useful in case of a shortage of other natural gases, but there are certain problems. First, as with any subsea exploration, commercial production will be very expensive. And secondly, environmentalists fear that underwater drilling can lead to real disasters.

10. Unraveling the sound of "Bloop"

Back in 1997, people were baffled by a sound recorded underwater not far from South America. It was loud enough to be clearly picked up by two different stations a few kilometers apart, and many people thought it was the sound of a colossal deep sea creature.

Some people even suggested that this is the notorious Cthulhu, whose mythical place of imprisonment ( underwater city R'Lieh) is supposedly located a couple of thousand kilometers from the stations that picked up the sound. In the end, scientists came to the conclusion that the sounds were just the crackling of ice shelves cracking underwater.

Some say that the limit of our knowledge of the world lies in space, but they flatter themselves: the limit of our knowledge is still on Earth. The oceans are still one of the the greatest mysteries nature. Many of us take the ocean for granted, but it is huge, powerful and almost endless, and its depths can hide something unimaginable. 10 examples of such surprises - in this post!

The Bimini Road, also called the Bimini Wall, is located in the Bahamas. It lies under water at a depth of only about half a meter, so that it can be seen through the water. Some of its stones reach a length of 6 meters! Someone believes that it was formed naturally, someone - that it was laid by people. Only one question remains: why lay the road under water? ..

9. "Milk Sea"

The “milk sea” effect occurs when all the water in a certain area of ​​the ocean seems to change color and becomes a milky white-blue hue. This is a rather frightening phenomenon; many sailors and travelers felt completely disoriented when confronted with it. Many scientists claim that this is due to the activity of bacteria, but so far no bacteria have been found that can change the color of water for days on end, but not constantly, but from time to time.

These stunning ancient pyramids were found in Japan, near the island of Yonaguni. Researchers say they may be older than Egyptian pyramids! All this is great, but how exactly did they end up underwater? Nobody can say for sure. If they are man-made, they may have been part of the city. But people can't live underwater! Or… once could? Or were they not built by people? Who knows.

A question for philosophers who love riddles like “can God create a stone that he himself cannot lift”: how can there be an underwater waterfall if water is everywhere? Nevertheless, underwater waterfalls exist and can even be very dangerous - the currents that form near them can destroy the ship. So far, scientists have discovered 7 underwater waterfalls, and, most likely, these are not all such phenomena that we know about. The largest of them is located off the coast of Denmark.

6. Underwater crop circles

You know about "crop circles" - mysterious patterns, looking at which, people think that these circles were left by UFOs when they landed? So, these circles also exist under water. Apparently, the aliens are not very worried about where exactly to land - on land or in the ocean! In fact, scientists believe that these traces remain from the mating ritual of one of the species of fish - this is not as interesting as the version with aliens, but what can you do?

Ah, the Bermuda Triangle! Once upon a time, people really worried about the need to fly or swim in this zone if the route ran through it. They talk less about him now, but he used to be a significant cause for excitement. It was also called the "Devil's Triangle", and many planes and ships in this area disappeared without a trace. Some say that there is a portal to another world! This may not be true, but why tempt fate?

All the items on this list are real mysteries, but the Cuban underwater city is the one that really makes you think seriously. There is a structure off the coast of Cuba whose existence suggests that perhaps the myth of Atlantis was based on real facts! This is an underwater city with giant pyramids and sculptures of sphinxes. Some believe that the city is over 10,000 years old and sank during an earthquake. It's really hard to come up with another explanation.

The Devil's Sea is an area in the sea about 100 km from Japanese capital Tokyo, near Guam territory. Many sailors are afraid to enter these waters. Many ships of daredevils sank here, trying to cross the Devil's Sea. strong storms and storms break out in the area "out of the blue", out of the blue. In addition, no one lives here - no fish, no birds, no whales, no dolphins. Most likely, there is something connected with this that we humans do not know!

Another real mystery is the mysterious circles near the Persian Gulf, which glow and rotate. Some scientists claim that this is plankton, but most researchers disagree. Most likely, this is another one of the unknown oceanic phenomena (although, of course, as in other phenomena on Earth, aliens may be involved in this).

This is perhaps even too mysterious even for this list! Some people believe that what we think is a UFO at the bottom of the Baltic is just a rock. Others say that this is an old sunken submarine. But this machine looks like it just stepped out of the frame. star wars"! The team of researchers who discovered it claims that it rests on a huge pillar, and inside it there is, as it were, a staircase leading to a black hole. It doesn't matter if you believe in the versions given here or not - one thing is clear: definitely, this is really a mystery for humanity!