Underwater explorations surprise researchers more and more every day, as they have managed to perceive all kinds of strange situations and creatures, such as ultra-black fish or sounds captured at great depths. But from time to time, researchers also find sites that seem to have come out of an ancient civilization that has been relegated to the exile of the depths. Recently members of the Ocean Exploration Trust found a ‘brick road’ more than 1,000 meters under the sea.
A mysterious region beneath Hawaii
The region known as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), is the largest marine protected area that exists in the world. It is located to the north of the Hawaiian archipelago and is a region of great interest, because of the conditions of the islands that have arisen from volcanic activity, it is practically a biological laboratory, home of endemic species that are not found anywhere else in the world.
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This is why Nautilus Live dedicates great exploration efforts to it through the operation known as Ocean Exploration Trust. It seeks to generate new discoveries in biological matters, but also in geology and the composition of that mysterious site. The program offers live transmissions from the exploration vessels so that anyone with an interest in the mysteries of the sea can have access to the depths.
It was precisely during one of these transmissions that the team monitoring a camera a thousand meters under the sea found a strange ‘brick road’ in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The appearance of the site looks like something out of an ancient abandoned city that has now been left under the sea.
“It’s the road to Atlantis,” one researcher can be heard saying. “The yellow brick road?” exclaimed another voice. “This is weird,” added another team member. “Are you kidding me? This is crazy.”
An unexpected explanation
The video showed the genuine surprise of the researchers who were perplexed by the discovery. However, they soon began to look for explanations that might shed light on the strange site before their eyes. They first analyzed the shape of the seabed found in the Nutka seamount, as it seems strangely dry despite being one kilometer below the surface of the sea.
They concluded that in that small section of sediment, the site conditions caused a fracture in the volcanic rock in a way that looks like bricks. However, this is not a man-made region, but a conjunction of extraordinary situations such as the seafloor being covered by volcanic rock that has cooled and heated as a result of multiple eruptions in the region.
“The unique 90° fractures are likely related to heating and cooling stresses from multiple eruptions in this baked margin,” the researchers explain in the caption of the video.
One more proof that nature creates its own works of art by mere serendipity, although it never ceases to amaze us. In addition, it opens a space for us to learn about programs such as the Ocean Exploration Trust, which daily transmits its findings live and direct.
Story originally published in Ecoosfera
