Mysterious Holes On the Seafloor Just Off the Coast of California Might Finally Have an Explanation

Amaze Lab

At the bottom of the ocean just off the coast of California there is an underwater phenomenon that has been puzzling scientists. Unlike most other areas of the seafloor, this one is covered in deep holes and no one really knows how they got there.

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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 At the bottom of the ocean just off the coast of California,

00:06 there is an underwater phenomenon

00:08 that has been puzzling scientists.

00:10 Unlike other areas of the seafloor,

00:11 this one is covered in deep holes,

00:13 and no one really knows how they got there.

00:15 It's been named the Sir Pockmark Field,

00:18 as it's just off the coast of Big Sur.

00:20 And the historical theory has been

00:21 that the holes were caused by methane gas release.

00:24 However, during a recent probe to see the area's viability

00:27 for a wind farm, experts say they have found little evidence

00:30 of methane.

00:30 So what's going on?

00:32 The Sir Pockmark Field is located

00:34 at depths ranging from around 1,600

00:36 to around 5,000 feet underwater.

00:38 And there are more than 5,200 of these holes

00:40 covering an area the size of Los Angeles,

00:42 with each one on average around 574 feet wide.

00:46 Now, after a significant data collection period,

00:48 the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

00:51 and Stanford University experts believe

00:53 they have an idea about what caused these holes.

00:55 They say the holes are located on top of a continental slope,

00:58 and the samples they have collected have revealed

01:00 that large amounts of sediment has slid downward.

01:02 Part of this could have been caused

01:04 by an ancient earthquake some 14,000 years ago,

01:06 resulting in a slope collapse that they say

01:09 could have eroded the center of each of these pockmarks.

01:11 With the researchers adding,

01:12 "We were unable to determine exactly how these pockmarks

01:15 "were initially formed,

01:16 "but with MBARI's advanced underwater technology,

01:19 "we've gained new insight into how and why these features

01:22 "have persisted on the seafloor

01:24 "for hundreds of thousands of years."

01:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:29 (gentle music)

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