- 2 weeks ago
At first, it looks like a perfect blue circle — almost unreal. But scientists say the Great Blue Hole may be sending warning signs we shouldn’t ignore. Hidden beneath the surface are clues about collapses, past disasters, and possible future risks. This isn’t just a pretty dive spot — it’s a geological mystery with consequences. Let’s break down what’s really happening under the water. Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
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Our Social Media:
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https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
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For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00Roofs fly off like paper. Huge trees are yanked from the ground.
00:04Power lines snap and leave neighborhoods in the dark.
00:07Streets flood like rivers. Homes are left in ruins.
00:11That's a hurricane passing through.
00:14After the wind calms down, the real mess begins.
00:17People stranded. No clean water. Destroyed roads.
00:22Storms have been picking up for like 5,700 years.
00:26And the scariest part is that in the last 20 years, there's been a huge spike.
00:31But let's start from the very beginning.
00:33This is Belize, a small country on the northeastern coast of Central America.
00:39And this is the Great Blue Hole.
00:42A huge, deep underwater sinkhole about 410 feet deep and approximately 50 miles off the coast of Belize.
00:50It formed around 10,000 years ago, when the sea levels rose after the last ice age.
00:57A team of scientists arrived in Central America to study mud from way down in the Great Blue.
01:04They pulled out a long sample of sediment, which is basically layers of stuff that settled over time.
01:10You might ask, so what?
01:12How are tropical storms connected with this sediment?
01:15Let's see.
01:17Tropical cyclones are big, spinning storms that form over warm ocean water.
01:22They pull up heat from the sea and blast it into the sky.
01:26And yeah, they can be devastatingly destructive, with super strong winds, heavy rain, and floods from big waves.
01:35And mud cores, like the one the researchers pulled up, are actually records of tropical storms.
01:40The sample they pulled up was 98 feet long, which made it the longest ever found in that area.
01:48Here's how it works.
01:49Every year, two thin layers of sediment settle in the hole where the weather is calm.
01:54But when a big storm hits, it leaves behind a different, messier layer.
01:59So by looking at these layers, scientists could tell how many storms hit that spot over the last 5,700 years.
02:07It's like counting tree rings, you know?
02:11Anyway, what they found was rather unexpected.
02:14It turns out that tropical cyclones had been getting more and more common.
02:19The lead researcher said that over the past 6,000 years, there were usually between 4 and 16 tropical storms, or hurricanes, every 100 years.
02:28But just in the last 20 years alone, they found signs of 9 storms in that same little area.
02:37That's way more than usual, and it shows how much things are changing.
02:42Scientists think there are two main reasons why tropical storms have been happening more often.
02:47One reason has to do with something called the Intertropical Convergent Zone, or ITCZ.
02:53This is an area near the equator where winds from the north and south come together.
02:59That spot has low air pressure, lots of moisture, and tons of thunderstorms.
03:05Just above it is the part of the Atlantic Ocean where most hurricanes are born.
03:10It even has an official name, the Hurricane Main Development Region.
03:14Normally, the ITCZ moves north in the summer and south in the winter because of changes in ocean temperatures.
03:22But over the past few thousand years, it's slowly been shifting farther and farther south.
03:28That's why the area where storms usually start has also moved south.
03:34It means storms are now forming and heading toward lower parts of the Atlantic than they used to.
03:39The second reason for the recent spike in storms is rising ocean temperatures.
03:45Earth has gotten warmer, and the ocean has warmed up too.
03:49The warm oceans help make more powerful storms.
03:53Such an increase likely means that this part of the world might see a lot more big storms in the future.
03:59If things keep going the way they are, scientists think the Caribbean could get hit by as many as 45 tropical storms and hurricanes by the end of this century.
04:09That's way more than anything the world has experienced in the last 5,700 years.
04:15There are just too many changes in the world that influence the situation.
04:20They create the perfect conditions for more storms to form and get really intense, really fast.
04:25But if you think storms are getting more intense only over the ocean, let me tell you about America.
04:32A bunch of really dangerous storms, including tornadoes, dust storms, and wildfires, tore through several states in the Midwest and south of the USA in March 2025.
04:43At least 42 people lost their lives, and the scale of the devastation is enormous.
04:50What's scary is that most of this destruction didn't happen in the usual Tornado Alley area.
04:56Tornado Alley is a nickname for a part of the U.S. where tornadoes happen a lot.
05:02It stretches through places like northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, parts of Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and even eastern Colorado.
05:13But this time, storms hit places like Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama.
05:19Experts had warned this might happen.
05:21At the beginning of 2025, they said that tornadoes could start showing up more often farther east than usual.
05:28And that's exactly what's happening.
05:32One of their top weather experts said people in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys should get ready for a rough spring.
05:40There are more people living in these areas than in traditional tornado zones,
05:43and many of them live in mobile homes or buildings without basements, which puts them at more risk when big storms hit.
05:52A tornado is basically a spinning tube of super-strong wind that comes down from storm clouds and touches the ground.
06:00They can be really dangerous.
06:03To figure out how strong a tornado is, scientists use something called the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
06:08It goes from EF0, which stands for the weakest tornado, to EF5.
06:15Such a tornado is crazy strong.
06:17Tear your house apart strong.
06:20The main question is, why are tornadoes happening more in the east now?
06:26In the U.S., tornado season usually kicks off in March.
06:30That's when cold air from Canada bumps into warm, wet air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico.
06:35And boom! Storms start to form.
06:38But this year, things are a bit different.
06:41Here's what's going on.
06:43There's a big patch of high pressure, basically a chunk of calm, warm air hanging over the southwest.
06:50That's keeping things more stable out west, so fewer thunderstorms, as well as fewer tornadoes, are expected there.
06:56So, tornadoes are shifting eastward.
07:00Meanwhile, the Gulf of Mexico is super warm this year, and that's helping storms form in the southeastern U.S.
07:07The warm water adds a lot of energy to the atmosphere, which can lead to stronger, more frequent storms in places like Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.
07:17Up north, around the Great Lakes and northeast, it's staying cooler this spring.
07:21That means fewer big storms up there, at least for now.
07:27Now, let's get back to those devastating March storms.
07:30On March 14 and 15, a huge storm system blasted through parts of the central and southern U.S.
07:37This system brought 52 confirmed tornadoes, massive dust storms, and fast-moving wildfires.
07:44It all led to almost 1,100 canceled flights.
07:49About 150 million people were affected by this natural disaster.
07:54Two really strong tornadoes, classified as EF4s, hit Arkansas.
07:59The damage was incredible.
08:02One of those tornadoes, which hit a town called Diaz, had winds up to 190 miles per hour.
08:08That's insanely fast!
08:11For comparison, the average speed of a Formula One car is around 130 to 160 miles per hour.
08:19It was the first time in over 25 years that Arkansas got hit by two EF4s on the same day.
08:26Experts also recorded wind gusts moving at a speed of over 80 miles per hour in the southern plains.
08:32In Texas, dust storms led to fatal car crashes.
08:37Wildfires, caused and driven by the strong winds, burned through parts of Texas and Oklahoma.
08:43Oklahoma alone had more than 130 fires.
08:47So, what's next?
08:49Experts think the U.S. could see between 1,300 and 1,450 tornadoes in 2025.
08:57That's way more than the usual 1,225.
09:02And it's not just about tornadoes.
09:04A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture.
09:07That means heavier rains, more flash floods, and even more powerful storms.
09:11Basically, the formula is the following.
09:15Warmer oceans plus warmer air equals stormy weather, especially in the east and southeast.
09:21But even if you don't live in any of these areas, you can't feel completely at ease either.
09:27Experts say tornadoes and other natural disasters can happen pretty much anywhere in the U.S.
09:31The risk moves around depending on the time of year and the weather.
09:37See this big spot under the water near the shore?
09:40It's a coral reef.
09:42It beckons you to swim closer.
09:44But be careful.
09:45If you get there, it could be the last swim of your life.
09:49Stay away from the reef.
09:51But why?
09:52Why are coral reefs so dangerous?
09:55Let's figure it out.
09:57First, make your guess about what a coral reef is.
10:01An underwater cliff?
10:04Rocks?
10:05A coastal landscape?
10:07Some spot where shells live?
10:09Close, but not true.
10:11In short, a coral reef is a living thing.
10:16What we see in shallow tropical waters are colonies of organisms called coral polyps.
10:21They are distant relatives of jellyfish and anemones with amazing superpowers.
10:27They can absorb calcium from the water.
10:29When they do this, they convert calcium into hard limestone rocks.
10:35These rocks, like building blocks, form solid coral reefs and settle on the seabed.
10:39But there are soft coral reefs that look like plants.
10:44They float freely with the currents, swing in different directions, and seem to pulsate under the water.
10:49They don't have solid coral blocks, but they can grow tree-like cores to maintain their position.
10:56Both hard and soft coral reefs are beautiful creatures, but at the same time, they are very dangerous.
11:04Many ships were wrecked when they hit shallow water, as the sharp edges of coral reefs ripped through their hulls.
11:12But what danger is there for someone swimming alone, who isn't going to hit the reef?
11:17You can just scuba dive and enjoy the beautiful views of coral polyps.
11:22But be prepared to encounter unexpected and unpleasant creatures.
11:27A coral reef is not just a living colony.
11:30It's a home for thousands of diverse marine creatures.
11:34And some of them can be very dangerous for humans.
11:37Like the blue-ringed octopus, for example.
11:43This is a tiny creature that you will definitely notice thanks to the bright spots on its body.
11:47But don't touch it with your hand, as it's one of the most venomous creatures on Earth.
11:53The amount of toxic venom carried by this octopus can harm 26 people.
11:58And these people are unlikely to survive this encounter.
12:02The poison works within a few minutes, and there's no antidote in the world.
12:06What makes it even more dangerous is that the octopus's sting is painless.
12:12You probably won't even know you've been stuck until the first symptoms appear.
12:17Body paralysis, respiratory problems, and cardiac arrest.
12:22But even if you don't notice the octopus and swim past,
12:25you'll probably notice the box jellyfish, whose tentacles can reach several feet in length.
12:31It looks like a creature from deep space, and you better not approach it.
12:35The box jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous creature.
12:40There are special cells in their tentacles that release a toxin called nematocysts.
12:45Over the past 100 years, roughly 70 people lost their lives after encountering these jellyfish.
12:51But most likely, the number is much higher.
12:54We just don't know about all such cases.
12:57Unlike the painless sting of the blue-ringed octopus, the encounter with a box jellyfish hurts.
13:05Another dangerous inhabitant of coral reefs is a rock.
13:10Yes, take a look.
13:11It's just a rock that's part of the reef.
13:13But wait a minute.
13:15It seems to be moving.
13:17Don't touch it.
13:18It's incredibly venomous.
13:19By now, you've probably already realized that this is not a stone.
13:25This is the stone fish.
13:28And this sullen-looking guy is one of the most venomous fish on the planet.
13:34Do you see those little spikes along its spine?
13:36The fish raises them when it feels in danger.
13:39If the toxin covering these spikes enters your body, you have less than an hour to take the antidote.
13:45If you don't make it in time, better not dwell on the worst-case scenario.
13:51Do you still want to swim closer to the coral reef?
13:54If so, go ahead.
13:56There are other scary creatures there.
13:59This one, for example, doesn't pretend to be a rock or something harmless.
14:03It looks dangerous, and it is dangerous.
14:06It's the moray eel.
14:09These underwater snakes are not venomous, but meeting them can be unpleasant.
14:14They can bite quite painfully, but only if you disturb them in their burrows.
14:19Of course, you probably won't want to tease these creatures,
14:22but you might accidentally approach their burrow without knowing they live there and poke it with your finger.
14:28Once you do it, get ready for a payback strike.
14:32By the way, moray eels are poisonous because they eat toxic algae and fish.
14:37However, they can't use this poison against you unless you try to eat them.
14:44As you approach the coral reef, you may encounter a flying dagger.
14:48This is the needlefish, a thin, fast fish with a sharp nose and prickly, needle-like teeth.
14:55It swims near the surface close to coral reefs at high speed,
14:59and then jumps out of the water and flies at a speed of 37 miles per hour.
15:05Many people have reported getting seriously injured by this guy.
15:08This one looks like barbed wire shaped like a star.
15:13Hundreds of sharp needles cover the crown-of-thorns starfish's body, and you'd better not touch them.
15:19Each thorn on their body contains dangerous toxins that cause pain, nausea, swelling, and can even lead to anaphylactic shock.
15:28Coral reefs are not just a place for them to hang out, but also food.
15:32This starfish bulges out its stomach, covers the reef's surface with it, and absorbs nutrients from it.
15:39It's like something straight out of a sci-fi horror movie.
15:44But don't think that corals are something scary and dangerous.
15:48In fact, coral reefs are some of the most useful things in the ocean.
15:52They even save people's lives.
15:55Do you know that lines of coral reefs cushion the impact of tsunamis and protect the shores from flooding?
16:00Some large reefs, like the Great Barrier Reef, are the boundary between the open sea and shallow waters.
16:07They stretch along the coast and form a protective wall that serves as a barrier against tsunamis and landslides.
16:14During a storm, rocky coral reefs disperse large waves and soften their impacts on the shore.
16:21But the coolest thing is that corals help your Instagram profile look better.
16:25What? Yes, that's right!
16:28Do you know these beautiful paradise-style photos when the water near the shore is blue and the sand on the beach is white?
16:35So sand gets this unique color thanks to corals.
16:39As you already know, coral bodies are made up of calcium carbonate.
16:44When waves and storms destroy corals, they wash out these calcium particles directly onto the shore.
16:49Besides corals, tiny bits of crushed seashells also end up there.
16:55Over time, layer by layer, they build up to form white sandy beaches.
17:01By the way, parrotfish are also involved in creating this beauty.
17:06These little fish feed on algae that stick to coral reefs, so they also consume pieces of coral along with their food.
17:13Then, when they're full, they release the coral particles, which eventually become the white sand.
17:20One such fish releases about 200 pounds of coral waste per year.
17:25So in a sense, this white sand appears because parrotfish go number two.
17:32Coral reefs are ancient.
17:34The average reef grows at a rate of about 0.7 inches per year.
17:37And now look at their sizes.
17:40The Great Barrier Reef stretches for more than 1,430 miles, and it's been growing for 8,000 years.
17:48It's been here since people began to develop agriculture, domesticate animals, and build the first settlements.
17:54And some reefs are much, much older.
17:57That's why it's so important to preserve this unique natural wonder.
18:00And humans end up destroying it, often when ships accidentally crash into coral reefs.
18:07When this happens, it ruins the home for thousands of sea creatures.
18:11Ocean ecosystems get majorly impacted.
18:15But we also try to improve the situation.
18:18Coast Guards protect the areas where coral reefs grow so that no vessel can approach them.
18:22These majestic creatures are a crucial part of nature.
18:27And this is another equally important reason why we should stay away from them.
18:33That's it for today.
18:34So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
18:39Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.
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