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10 Unexplained Ocean Mysteries

Monday, June 18, 2012 23:25

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By Julie FishmanJun 13, 2012

From ghost ships to sea monsters to waters possessed by the paranormal the ocean is still a great mystery. While modern science has deemed many nautical tales tall, some eerie ocean phenomena still escape logical explanation.

10. The Mary Celeste

Eight days after setting sail from New York with 10 people on board, a merchant ship called the Mary Celeste was found adrift and abandoned in the North Atlantic in 1872. While one lifeboat was missing and a pump had been

dissembled, the ship was largely intact: six months of food was untouched, the crew’s belongings were in order and though tossed about, the ship’s logbook and some charts were left on board. Why the sailors, captain and captain’s family left the ship and what happened to them thereafter remains a mystery as neither the lifeboat nor any bodies were ever found.

Since valuables remained on board, historians don’t think pirate takeover is a viable explanation. An extremely experienced crew and well-liked captain ruled out pure error and mutiny. A leading theory suggests that upon smelling fumes from leaking wine barrels, the captain anticipated an explosion and ordered everyone into a lifeboat, on which they subsequently starved or drowned. Though empty barrels were found in the hull, no one who inspected the boat smelled fumes of any kind, adding doubt to the supposition. So what happened to the Mary Celeste? Your guess is as good as ours.

9. “The Bloop” and “Julia”

Underwater microphones off the southern

coast of South America have recorded a number of creepy sounds. While nearly all of the noises can be attributed to volcanic activity or shifting icebergs, two instances have scientists totally baffled. The first, known as “The Bloop,” occurred in 1997 and lasted just over a minute. Two years later, what sounded like a watery voice saying “Julia” was picked up in the same region of the ocean.

An investigation of each sound ruled out seismic or human activity. While scientists agree that an animal is responsible for “Julia,” no creature currently known to man is large enough to produce such a noise. Science-fiction fans have posited that Cthulhu, a winged, tentacled, badass monster created by writer H.P. Lovecraft, is the source of the underwater eeriness. Though unlikely, the Cthulhu hypothesis would certainly make for a great summer blockbuster

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