Top 10 Ocean Phenomena
10. The Mystery of Underwater Crop Circles
They’ve been called the crop circles of the ocean floor—seven-foot diameter patterned circles that were first spotted in 1995 off the coast of southern Japan. But their origin was an enigma, and local divers termed them “mystery circles”.
The mystery persisted until 2011 when the culprit, a male pufferfish just five inches long, was finally caught in the act. And recently scientist studied the process of how the species creates these elaborate designs in order to woo females.
9. The growing gap between two tectonic plates of Eurasia and North America
Swimming through an area of extreme natural beauty, this diver surveys the underwater canyons on his either side.
But this British scuba diver is actually between two tectonic plates.
Alex Mustard, 36, dived 80ft into the crevice between the North American and Eurasian
plates near Iceland to capture these spectacular photos.
plates near Iceland to capture these spectacular photos.
The area is riddled with faults, valleys, volcanoes and hot springs, caused by the plates pulling apart at about one inch per year.
Mr Mustard snapped away as he and his dive partners swam through fresh water canyons Silfra, Nes and Nikulasargja, which are up to 200ft deep.
He also took photos of the Arnarnes Strytur chimney, which forms a cloudy plume as 80C water is ejected from Earth's crust and hits the cool 4C seawater.
Mr Mustard, from Southampton, said: 'The photos show diving in the unique underwater world of Iceland which, like on land, is formed by the volcanic landscape of the country.
8. Underwater River
It's not until you dive almost 100 feet that the underwater river become exposed. Angelita is a cenote. A cenote is a deep sinkhole formed from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. Cenotes are connected to subterranean bodies of water, and often have vast underwater cave systems.
7. Meeting of fresh and salt water
Brackish water condition commonly occurs when fresh water meets sea water. In fact, the most extensive brackish water habitats worldwide are estuaries, where a river meets the sea. The River Thames flowing through London is a classic river estuary. Let's take a view of it.
6. Green Flash
Green flashes and green rays are optical phenomena that sometimes occur just after sunset or right before sunrise. When the conditions are right, a green spot is visible above the upper rim of the Sun's disk. The green appearance usually lasts for no more than a second or two. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset (or sunrise) point. Green flashes occur because the atmosphere can cause the light from the sun to separate out into different colors. Green flashes are a group of phenomena which stem from slightly different causes, and therefore some types of green flashes are more common than others.
5. Frost Flower
Frost flowers are ice crystals commonly found growing on young sea ice and thin lake ice in cold, calm conditions. The ice crystals are similar to hoar frost, and are commonly seen to grow in patches around 3–4 cm in diameter. Frost flowers growing on sea ice have extremely high salinities and concentrations of other sea water chemicals and, because of their high surface area, are efficient releasers of these chemicals into the atmosphere.
4. Brinicle
a long, tapering vertical tube of ice formed in the sea around a plume of very cold seawater produced by a developing ice sheet which is known as Brinicle (ice stalactite).
As sea water freezes in the polar oceans, salt brine concentrates are expelled from the sea ice, creating a downward flow of dense, extremely cold and saline water with a lower freezing point than the surrounding water. When this plume comes into contact with the neighboring ocean water, its extremely cold temperature causes ice to instantly be formed around the flow. This creates a hollow stalactite or icicle, referred to as a brinicle.
3. Rogue Wave
Rogue waves (also known as freak wave, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are large, unexpected and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous, even to large ships such as ocean liners.
2. Maelstrom
A whirlpool is a body of swirling water produced by the meeting of opposing currents. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful and very small whirlpools can easily be seen when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones in seas or oceans may be termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft.
In oceans, in narrow straits, with fast flowing water, whirlpools are normally caused by tides; there are few stories of large ships ever being sucked into such a maelstrom, although smaller craft are in danger. Smaller whirlpools also appear at the base of many waterfalls and can also be observed downstream from manmade structures such as weirs and dams. In the case of powerful waterfalls, like Niagara Falls, these whirlpools can be quite strong.
1. Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence occurs through a chemical reaction that produces light energy within an organism's body. For a reaction to occur, a species must contain luciferin, a molecule that, when it reacts with oxygen, produces light. There are different types of luciferin, which vary depending on the animal hosting the reaction. Many organisms also produce the catalyst luciferase, which helps to speed up the reaction.
Animals can closely control when they light up by regulating their chemistry and brain processes depending on their immediate needs, whether a meal or a mate. Some organisms even bundle the luciferin with oxygen in what is called a “photoprotein”—like a pre-packaged bioluminescence bomb—that is ready to light up the moment a certain ion (typically calcium) becomes present. They can even choose the intensity and color of the lights.
7. Meeting of fresh and salt water
Brackish water condition commonly occurs when fresh water meets sea water. In fact, the most extensive brackish water habitats worldwide are estuaries, where a river meets the sea. The River Thames flowing through London is a classic river estuary. Let's take a view of it.
6. Green Flash
Green flashes and green rays are optical phenomena that sometimes occur just after sunset or right before sunrise. When the conditions are right, a green spot is visible above the upper rim of the Sun's disk. The green appearance usually lasts for no more than a second or two. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset (or sunrise) point. Green flashes occur because the atmosphere can cause the light from the sun to separate out into different colors. Green flashes are a group of phenomena which stem from slightly different causes, and therefore some types of green flashes are more common than others.
5. Frost Flower
Frost flowers are ice crystals commonly found growing on young sea ice and thin lake ice in cold, calm conditions. The ice crystals are similar to hoar frost, and are commonly seen to grow in patches around 3–4 cm in diameter. Frost flowers growing on sea ice have extremely high salinities and concentrations of other sea water chemicals and, because of their high surface area, are efficient releasers of these chemicals into the atmosphere.
4. Brinicle
a long, tapering vertical tube of ice formed in the sea around a plume of very cold seawater produced by a developing ice sheet which is known as Brinicle (ice stalactite).
As sea water freezes in the polar oceans, salt brine concentrates are expelled from the sea ice, creating a downward flow of dense, extremely cold and saline water with a lower freezing point than the surrounding water. When this plume comes into contact with the neighboring ocean water, its extremely cold temperature causes ice to instantly be formed around the flow. This creates a hollow stalactite or icicle, referred to as a brinicle.
3. Rogue Wave
Rogue waves (also known as freak wave, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are large, unexpected and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous, even to large ships such as ocean liners.
2. Maelstrom
A whirlpool is a body of swirling water produced by the meeting of opposing currents. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful and very small whirlpools can easily be seen when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones in seas or oceans may be termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft.
In oceans, in narrow straits, with fast flowing water, whirlpools are normally caused by tides; there are few stories of large ships ever being sucked into such a maelstrom, although smaller craft are in danger. Smaller whirlpools also appear at the base of many waterfalls and can also be observed downstream from manmade structures such as weirs and dams. In the case of powerful waterfalls, like Niagara Falls, these whirlpools can be quite strong.
1. Bioluminescence
Animals can closely control when they light up by regulating their chemistry and brain processes depending on their immediate needs, whether a meal or a mate. Some organisms even bundle the luciferin with oxygen in what is called a “photoprotein”—like a pre-packaged bioluminescence bomb—that is ready to light up the moment a certain ion (typically calcium) becomes present. They can even choose the intensity and color of the lights.
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