The Bermuda Triangle area includes the maritime area between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. In the last 100 years, more than 50 ships and 20 aircraft have gone missing here. The most famous incident is of 1945, when 5 bomber planes (Flight 19) of the US Navy disappeared along with 14 people and a search plane also went missing.

But scientists say that these disappearances are not a supernatural mystery. The reasons for this are bad weather, strong sea waves (Gulf Stream), disturbances in the compass and human errors. This area is very busy, hence a lot of ships and planes pass by. The rate of disappearance is the same as in other marine areas of the world.

Unique rock layer discovered

A new study has revealed the real new mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, which is hidden not on the surface of the sea, but under the island of Bermuda. Scientists have discovered a unique rock layer under the island. This layer is about 20 kilometers below the earth’s crust and is 1.5 percent less dense than the surrounding rocks. Because of this, the island remains about 500 meters above the sea surface, as if a raft floats on water.

How did this layer form and why is it special?
Bermuda is an old volcanic island. The last major volcanic eruption here occurred 30 million years ago. Normally, after the volcano stops, the crust (upper layer of the earth) cools and sinks down and the island sinks into the sea. But Bermuda did not sink. Scientists believe that during the last eruption, rock from the mantle (Earth’s hot inner layer) entered the crust and solidified. This process is called ‘underplating’. This created a light layer, which keeps the island aloft.

This layer is not found anywhere else on Earth. This is completely unique. The mantle begins directly beneath the normal oceanic crust, but in Bermuda there is this additional layer between the crust and the mantle.

How was the rock layer discovered in Bermuda?

Seismologist William Fraser of Carnegie Science and Jeffrey Park of Yale University have studied it. This study has been published in the journal ‘Geophysical Research Letters’. For this he-

• They used data from seismic waves from 396 major earthquakes (magnitude 5.5 or greater) that occurred around the world.
• A seismic station (BBSR) installed on Bermuda records these waves.
• These waves pass through the Earth and bend or stop at layers of different density. With this data, scientists created a 3D picture up to 50 kilometers beneath the island, in which four distinct layers were clearly visible.

Fraser says that this layer is unique on Earth. Now scientists will investigate other volcanic islands to see whether such a layer is present there too.

Why is this discovery in Bermuda so special?
This discovery further weakens the old myths (aliens, whirlpool or supernatural force) of the Bermuda Triangle. The real mystery is not on the surface, but in the depths of the earth. This will give a new understanding to the geology of the Earth and scientists will know why old volcanic islands do not sink. This can also provide new information about other marine areas and islands.

This study shows that many mysteries of nature can be solved by science. The Bermuda Triangle is still interesting, but now its new secret is the unique rock beneath the earth. The investigation is ongoing and more revelations may be made in the future.

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