Underwater Mysteries Quiz
In 1997, a mysterious and eerie high amplitude, very low-frequency noise occurred underwater and was picked up by NOAA (the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Theories range from unknown creatures to covert military acts, what's it called?
- Though the idea of ice breaking could have caused the Bloop, scientists have not confirmed exactly what made the strange noise.
Ornate circles of shells, coral, and pebbles can be found on the ocean floor off the coast of Japan and baffled scientists for many years. What are these "underwater crop circles" actually made by?
- The mating rituals of pufferfish actually end up creating these intricate circles as they try to attract a fellow fish.
Tagging marine animals for study is important, including sharks. But how far did an immense 9-foot great white shark plunge after scientists tagged it for tracking, causing them to think it was taken by something bigger?
- Though scientists are not sure how the huge tagged shark suddenly plummeted that far, speculations include an even more massive shark— or another type of predator we've yet to identify.
In 2011, a sonar scan of the Baltic Sea floor revealed a strange shape that stood out to researchers as unnatural in the landscape around it. What do some people speculate this formation to be?
- Strangely, the Baltic Sea anomaly's shape looks like the Millenium Falcon of "Star Wars" fame to many viewers; perhaps hyperspace took a detour.
What were the names of four international military submarines that disappeared underwater in 1968 just weeks after each other, without a trace to this day?
- Owned by the US, Israel, Soviet Russia, and France, respectively, the fates of the submarines and their crews are still unknown.
What is the name of a mysterious area of ocean that is responsible for several vessels and planes going missing, including Japanese military fleets in the 1950s and a history of disappearances that might stretch back to Mongolian legends?
- Like its Atlantic counterpart, the Pacific Dragon's Triangle is another place for people and objects to vanish into thin air.
What was the name of the island off the Yucatan peninsula that has been represented in maps since the 16th century, but when scientists went to explore it in 2009, found no land mass there?
- The "Phantom Island" phenomenon has been documented across several supposed locations, but no true answer has been given for the strange island.
While the underwater portion of the planet holds many specific mysteries, much of Earth's oceans are a mystery themselves. Approximately how much of the ocean have we never actually explored?
- According to UNESCO, we have only explored and mapped out about 5% of the world's oceans, making 95% of the big blue seas unknown to man.
In 1986, divers came across a strange, manufactured structure on the ocean floor near the island of Okinawa, that looks like a massive pyramid or set of giant steps. What is this "Atlantis of Japan" actually called?
- Some people believe this is proof of an ancient civilization lost to the sea or the remains of a giant species, but what remains certain is that building it underwater would be next to impossible.
The Mariana Trench is one of the most mysterious and intriguing locations on the planet, with much of it unexplored. But how approximately deep is the lowest-known part of the planet's seabed?
- Aptly called the Challenger Deep, it's the deepest part of the ocean that we know of, and humans have only ventured into its black waters once, in the 1960 Trieste expedition.
