However, is this explanation enough to end the belief that the cause is supernatural?
Even though the Bermuda Triangle is not recognized by the US Navy or the US Board on Geographic Names, I do not know anyone who hasn’t heard of this mysterious and seemingly mystical place.
For decades, the Bermuda Triangle has captured our imaginations with unexplained disappearances of ships, planes, and people. Since records began in 1851, it is estimated that around 8,127 people have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
While some speculate that these disappearances are the result of extraterrestrials, the lost city of Atlantis, or vortices that suck objects into other dimensions, others have provided some explanations that are a bit more grounded in science — including ocean outgassing, the disruption of geomagnetic field lines, and waterspouts, which are tornadoes that form on water and can reach wind speeds as high as 190 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour).
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Now, a study by Norwegian scientists from Arctic University has found new evidence to support the theory that ocean outgassing, or flatulence, was behind some of the shipwrecks.
Half-mile wide and 150-feet deep craters found off the coast of Norway suggest that the sea has the potential to produce enormous blowouts of methane gas that builds up under the ocean floor. Gas, leaking from deposits of oil and gas buried very deep in the sea floor, accumulates in shallower sediments before bursting through the ocean bed and into the surrounding waters.
The theory is that, as the gas bubbles rise to the surface, they could sink a ship that happens to be in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” However, a proven case of this has never been recorded. But strangely, there have been reports from sailors of water starting to bubble and foam for no apparent reason.
Scientists have recently developed a radar that is capable of showing detailed images of the ocean floor, according to a Sunday Times report. The images show areas of methane leaks around the world, which may lead to a scientific explanation for the phenomenon.
“Multiple giant craters exist on the sea floor in an area in the west-central Barents sea... and are probably a cause of enormous blowouts of gas," said the researchers to Sunday Times. “The crater area is likely to represent one of the largest hotspots for shallow marine methane release in the Arctic.”
This evidence is unlikely to deter true believers in the supernatural, especially since it does not explain the disappearances of airplanes. However, we may be one step closer to a real scientific explanation for the mystery behind the Bermuda Triangle.