Baffled scientists find giant hole at the bottom of the ocean – and it’s leaking

Posted on : 04/15/2023
Baffled scientists find giant hole at the bottom of the ocean – and it’s leaking
Science 

Scientists have discovered a hole at the bottom of the ocean, and they say it is leaking.

The hole is bizarrely leaking water into the ocean, rather than out, according to experts at the University of Washington.

It is located off the coast of Oregon, US on top of the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault.

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A press release from the institution said the fact that the seabed hole is leaking may not be a great omen for earthquake activity in the region.

The hole has been named "Pythias' Oasis" after an oracle who hallucinated prophecies while sitting on a hot spring, as reports the publication Futurism.

It has fascinated scientists since it was initially discovered back in 2015, but new research suggests that the water leaking out of the hole may be something else.

Experts believe it may actually be some sort of tectonic lubricant which the plates need to prevent shifting.

While on a research trip, scientists discovered “unexpected plumed of bubbles about three-quarters of a mile beneath the ocean’s surface.”

Using a seafloor-exploring robot, the crew learned that the bubbles "were just a minor component of warm, chemically distinct fluid gushing from the seafloor sediment."

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Evan Solomon, a University of Washington professor of oceanography and seafloor geology said: “They explored in that direction and what they saw was not just methane bubbles, but water coming out of the seafloor like a firehose.

"That’s something that I’ve never seen, and to my knowledge has not been observed before."

Previous research into the hole found that the water leaking out of the area is warmer than the ocean water.

It is believed to be the first seafloor leak of its kind but experts believe that others may exist without detection.

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