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Mexico ’s Taam Ja ' Blue Hole is the deep known underwater sinkhole in the world , researchers have give away — and they have n’t even reached the bottom yet .
newfangled measurement indicate the Taam Ja ' Blue Hole ( TJBH ) , which sits in Chetumal Bay off the southeast sea-coast of the Yucatan Peninsula , extends at least 1,380 feet ( 420 meters ) below ocean level .
The Taam Ja' Blue Hole sits underwater in Chetumal Bay, Mexico.
That ’s 480 foot ( 146 MiB ) deeper than scientist ab initio documented when they firstdiscovered the blue holein 2021 , and 390 foot ( 119 m ) deeper than theprevious record holder — the 990 - foot - deep ( 301 m ) Sansha Yongle Blue Hole , also known as the Dragon Hole , in the SouthChinaSea .
" On December 6 , 2023 , a Aqua-Lung diving expedition was conducted to identify the environmental experimental condition prevailing at the TJBH , " researchers wrote in a study write Monday ( April 29 ) in the journalFrontiers in Marine Science . During the expedition , the investigator took measurements with a conductivity , temperature and profundity ( CTD ) profiler — a gimmick with a set of probes thatread and transfer water supply propertiesto the aerofoil in real time via a cable . The data revealed that the Taam Ja ' puritanical hole is " the world ’s deepest know risque pickle , with its bottom still not reached , " the researcher wrote in the field .
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Location of the Taam Ja’ blue hole in Chetumal Bay, Mexico, and images from a scuba diving expedition in December, 2023.
The profiler also highlighted different layers of water within the blue muddle , including a bed below 1,312 feet ( 400 m ) where the temperature and salinity status resembled those of the Caribbean Sea and nearby coastal reef lagoon . This suggests the TJBH may be colligate to the ocean via a hidden web of tunnels and cave , according to the survey .
Blue holes are piddle - fill up vertical cavern , orsinkholes , happen in coastal regions where the bedrock is made of soluble material , such as limestone , marble or gypsum . They shape when water on the Earth’s surface percolate through the rock , dissolving mineral and widen cracks , which eventually make the rock to collapse . Famous examples let in Dean ’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas , the Dahab Blue Hole in Egypt and the Great Blue Hole in Belize .
Initial measurements of the TJBH were lead using an echo sounder — an instrument that charge sound wave down to the bottom of the urine and measure out the upper they add up back to calculate distance . However , there are limitation to echo go technique in blue holes due to variation in water density and the unpredictable form of each jam , which may not be perfectly erect .
" Confirmation of the maximal depth was not potential due to instrument limitations during the scientific expeditions in 2021 , " the investigator wrote in the work .
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The CTD instrument used for the late work did not find the bottom of the grim golf hole either , as it could only operate down to deepness of 1,640 feet ( 500 molarity ) . scientist lower the profiler down to that profoundness , but the cable it was attached to may have drift on underwater current or bumped into a shelf that end the machine in its tracks 1,380 feet down , consort to the study .
Next , the scientists plan to"decipher TJBH ’s " maximum astuteness and the theory of forming part of an underwater intricate and potentially interconnect system of caves and tunnels , " the researcher wrote .
" Within the depths of TJBH could also lie a biodiversity to be explored , " they added .
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