Thursday, 06. October 2005
Milky Seas
A few days ago by BBC News:

Mariners over the centuries have reported surreal, nocturnal displays of glowing sea surfaces stretching outwards to the horizon.
Little is known about these "milky seas" other than that they are probably caused by luminous bacteria.
But the first satellite detection of this strange phenomenon in the Indian Ocean may now aid future research.

'Milky seas' detected from space (English)

image


image

Today in the News:

Mariners have long told of rare nighttime events in which the ocean glows intensely as far as the eye can see in all directions.
Fictionally, such a "milky sea" is encountered by the Nautilus in Jules Verne classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
Scientists don't have a good handle what's going on. But satellite sensors have now provided the first pictures of a milky sea and given new hope to learning more about the elusive events.


"The problem with the bacteria hypothesis is that an extremely high concentration of bacteria must exist before they begin to produce light," Miller told LiveScience. "But what could possibly support the occurrence of such a large population?"

"But there could be other areas we simply don't know about yet," Miller said. "In fact, we're already beginning to receive feedback from additional witnesses of milky seas. Some of these accounts occurred in regions we had not thought to look before, and we're currently working to find matches with the satellite data."

Satellite images confirm mystery glow in ocean by LiveScience via MSNBC. (English)
Category: Mysteries & Enigmas Category: News & Stories




Comments Temporarily Disabled


Sorry folks - too much spam, the comments are deactivated. Stand by and please excuse the inconvenience.