6 Extraordinary ocean phenomena

Oceans, seas and more generally waterways around the world allow sailors and curious to observe extraordinary phenomena. Wheter you know them or not, here is our selection of the most incredible natural phenomena.

Red Tide

This phenomenon has been witnessed around the globe and is due to the over-concentration of unicellular algae called dinoflagellates. These organisms proliferate when water is subjected to a combination of phenomena disturbed weather, high temperatures, excess nutrients, strong sunlight … unfortunately, these red tides are often fatal to marine species since dinoflagellates absorb any oxygen some water.

Sea of Milk

Here is an interesting phenomenon. Satellites in orbit around the earth, reported light spots in the middle of the ocean. Scientists say it is due to bacteria or bioluminescent that make the ocean bright uniformly at night. How ever, some spectics have doubts about this hypothesis, since spots spread on hundreds of km.

Giant Sea Foam

Everyone has already seen once meerschaum in once’s life but have you ever see a whole city disappear under it ! This happens once or twice every 3 years in Australia in the city of Victoria. A question remains: where does it come from? It requires four things: water, salt, organic matter plants, animals and microorganisms and movement. When the micro-algae multiply and reproduce in a very significant way, they form a substance that swells in contact with water and becomes viscous. If you strongly shake at that time, the foam appear.

Underwater Giant Waves

On the ocean surface, the largest recorded waves measured around 35 meters. A team of researchers from the Massachusetts University observed in the China Sea waves that take form in the depths of the ocean waves and that can reach 170 meters. These “internal” waves, would be present in all the seas of the world and sometimes photographed by NASA from space. They play a role in the mixing of ocean waters and ocean temperature.

Brinicle or “Icy Finger of Death”

It is an icicle that forms in seawater when extremely cold salt water flow pours the polar ice caps. This vortex slowly descends from the surface to the bottom where it imprisons all kind of life in its mantle of ice.

Convergences

At the focal point between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, an exceptional phenomenon occurs. Because of the water density levels of the two seas, they remain separate despite their convergence. Another example of convergence observed in Mexico, in the Cenotes, underfreshwater river flows under saltwater.

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