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M Y S T E R I E S O F T H E O C E A N L AY E R : T H E B E R M U D A T R I A N G L E

MYSTERIES OF THE OCEAN LAYER: THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE

KARAM GIDDA

Coast Dhylan Halai

Triangle most likely is the reason for its dangerous characteristics. There are 11 other places similar to the Bermuda Triangle, and two are placed just below the poles, aligned horizontally, and the rest are perfectly aligned either side of the equator. Ivan T Sanderson, a paranormal traveller, recorded 12 vile vortices in the Bermuda Triangle and the 11 other locations. Another theory approved by scientists is that trapped methane being released from the seabed which hits the bottom of ships, destroying its buoyancy and creating a ‘trapdoor’ effect. Methane may also rise to reach planes and create explosions. Though the Bermuda Triangle remains unsolved, it is certainly a mystery of the Earth’s most elusive layer.

Mysteries of the Ocean Layer: The Bermuda Triangle

Bruce Gernon was flying a Beechcraft Bonanza plane in December 1970 to Miami with his father and business partner. This was a typical flight that Gernon took often, lasting 90 minutes with no issues. Shortly after take-off, at 1000 feet above the ground, Gernon spotted a quickly expanding cloud. He continued travelling towards it and reached it at 11,500 feet. He took no precaution of this rare expanding cloud and flew through it. As soon as he entered, he witnessed flashes of light like lightning that lit up the entire interior of the cloud. He could tell it was not lighting as he had been outside the cloud not long ago at all and experienced no lightning. According to his report, the cloud was quite cylindrical. Not long after entry, his electronics started to malfunction. He had to rely on his skill alone to pilot to his destination now. He saw a speck of light in the distance and directed towards it in a bid to bail out. To his relief, he burst out into a greyish haze. He immediately tried to contact ground control after some of his electronics restored, but ground control could not determine his location. He was off the radar. Not long after, ground control got hold of him on the radar and told him that he was in Miami. After Gernon had time to think, he found his journey to have lasted only 47 minutes as opposed to the usual 90, and also found that he had used significantly less fuel than usual too. Of course, this is very confusing, even to top professors. But some theorised that that dark energy may have created a curve in space-time, like a black hole does. However, this is still unproven, and the event is unexplainable. That same day, 84 sunspots were recorded, and solar wind was reported to be travelling at 44 miles per second. These anomalies could have

disturbed the Earth’s mesosphere, and this could have caused the electronic malfunctions. And scientists suggested that the expanding cloud was likely due to the area experiencing high and low pressures colliding. Most of you are probably aware that the number of shipwrecks and disappearance in the Bermuda triangle are hovering around about average mark (it is actually one of the busiest commercial shipping areas). But the reason that the Bermuda Triangle is dangerous is due to the consistency of electronic malfunctions, and sightings similar to that of Bruce Gernon. In short, it is capable of producing some very rare, but extremely powerful, geographical events. It is quite well known for radios to stop, electronics to malfunction and for compasses to spin like crazy in the triangle, and it is also well known to sight strange clouds. Scientists comment that most losses are caused by severe weather changes, shallow waters due to coral, and human navigation error (due to electronic malfunctions). The University of Colorado did a detailed study of the Bermuda Triangle by taking a range of images throughout the year and found that perfectly hexagonal shaped clouds are regularly found there, and they can act as air bombs, with winds over 170 miles per hour and waves around over 13 metres. Dr Simon Boxall has a well-respected theory that the Bermuda Triangle is a hotspot for wave systems to collide with each other, to create what he calls super waves. He says these super waves are rare but powerful, which makes sense as the number of disappearances in the Triangle are often rare and are followed by unsuccessful search missions. What is interesting, is that the location of the Bermuda

The ocean layer, our backbone for trade and travel, we know very little about it. In fact, since the early 1990s, we have known more about Mars’s topography than our own planet. And with the little amounts of understanding we have of our ocean, it makes sense that the ocean layer has some mysteries. The most famous mystery of our ocean layer is the Bermuda Triangle. Humans are inquisitive by nature and there are few features like the Bermuda Triangle that have the power to captivate and terrify us simultaneously. The Bermuda Triangle’s corners are based in Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. It spans over 500 thousand square miles in an area and has claimed over 200 aircraft, 2000 ships, and 1000 lives of official recorded losses or disappearances. Recorded anomalies in the Triangle go quite far back, with one of the most famous ones recorded by Christopher Columbus in the fifteenth century, when he witnessed a ‘great flame’ crashing into the sea, followed by a ‘bright white light’. Many scientists have since assumed this to be an asteroid encounter. Shakespeare even based his play ‘The Tempest’ on a shipwreck located in the Bermuda Triangle. More recently, the Bermuda Triangle was popularised by Hollywood and the many adventure and rescue films. Since then, many major accidents have been recorded. Famously, in 1918, a 500-foot long American ship sank along with 300 people onboard, more followed, with six planes sent to find the ship vanishing. Later, a very rare accident occurred, that still to this day can not be explained at all by researchers.

Stingray Anay Desai

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