New York Post By Ben Cost 2/24/2023
It could fill a massive knowledge “gap” on alien life.
Researchers flabbergasted the science community after discovering the world’s second-largest blue hole in Mexico — which could potentially provide a window into life on other planets.
The massive sapphire sinkhole was originally discovered in 2021 but was only documented recently in the scientific journal Frontiers In Marine Science.
It is likely “the deepest known blue hole in the region,” according to the scientists, who were affiliated with the public research center El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Ecosur).
Known in scientific circles as Karst formations, blue holes are actually vertical marine caves that were carved over thousands of years by glacial runoff during the Ice Age, according to Discovery.com.
These sprawling aquatic formations often extend hundreds of feet down and can measure an equal or greater distance across as well.
This latest cobalt cavern system was discovered off the Yucatan Peninsula’s Chetumal Bay, whereupon it was surveyed and sampled by scuba divers, undersea sonar, and other methods.
Dubbed Taam ja’ — which means “deep water” in Mayan — this behemoth blue lagoon spans an area of 147,000 square feet with a depth of 900 feet, Live Science reported.
This “makes it the second deepest known blue hole in the world,” after the Dragon Hole in the South China Sea which is believed to extend down some 980 feet, per the study.
More:
https://nypost.com/2023/04/24/massive-blue-hole-discovered-off-the-coast-of-mexico/
