Strange Circular Structure Formations Discovered Along Central California Coast, Stun Researchers
There are still many secrets within the waters of Earth. Round depressions spotted on a region of the central California coast have been troubling experts for years, according to Earth. A new study published in JGR Earth Surface provides some eye-opening details about these formations. These holes cover an area of around five hundred square miles. The region stretches from Big Sur to Morro Bay.
The formations had been spotted long ago and were previously believed to be the result of methane leaking from the surface. These holes exhibited a depth of around 16 feet. Recently, plans for an offshore wind farm in the region were proposed. The plan invited a re-investigation of the region, which revealed more uncanny details about the formations. Researchers found that there were more than 5,200 formations in the region. The most noteworthy insight was that all the holes exhibited equal gaps between them. This implied that an active phenomenon was in play, which was maintaining these formations.
The analysis of the sea floor was initially done to verify whether methane was actually leaking from the surface. If this assertion were true, then the turbine anchors associated with the wind farm may not be able to have a firm grasp on the sea floor. For the examination, many high-tech robots and sensors were sent to the region. The gathered data revealed that the pockmarks were somewhat circular in shape, perfectly spaced apart, and had a diameter of 656 feet.
Experts in the past believed that these prehistoric pockmarks were the consequence of methane leaking because of the findings from similar formations in other areas, according to Phys.org. However, in this case, the reason has been deemed to be sediment gravity flows. This process takes place when an avalanche of sand, mud, and water interacts with the seafloor. Researchers believe that this phenomenon has been taking place over centuries in the region, and has maintained the pockmarks in the process.
Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) provided, for the first time collected high resolution data of this region. There was also equipment present in the AUVs that could examine the sub-bottom layers of sediment underneath the seafloor. The operation also collected samples from the region, which aided experts in reconstructing the history of individual pockmarks in the region. Researchers theorized that the pockmarks were possibly created by sediment gravity flows, because of the area in which they were present.
These formations were present on the continental margin. Sediment gravity flow is noted to be powerful enough in this area to move a massive amount of material, intermittently over a long period. The findings from the sample, as well as the mapping done by the vehicles, showcased that the phenomenon was active in the region for the last 280,000 years. The movement had facilitated erosion at the centre of each pockmark for thousands of years, maintaining the unique-looking formations.
Their speculation was backed by the fact that researchers were unable to detect methane from any of the samples, according to Earth. This implied that methane leaking was not at least not involved in the maintenance of the holes. However, its creation is still a mystery. Researchers are encouraging other experts to further examine the area, so that more light could be shed on the management of these bewildering formations.