Scientists have made a baffling discovery in the depths of the Bermuda Triangle, one of the world's greatest mysteries.
Researchers have spotted an enormous stone structure hidden beneath Bermuda that is "unlike anything else on Earth," adding to the intrigue surrounding the enigmatic region.
The massive 12.4 mile (20km) layer of rock sits underneath the ocean crust below Bermuda, and no structure this thick has ever been found before, according to the team. They believe this discovery could help answer one of the biggest questions about the famous island and its strange geology, reports the Daily Mail.
Bermuda is situated on a raised area of ocean crust called an "oceanic swell," which lifts it above the surrounding area. While these formations are typically associated with volcanic activity, there is no evidence to suggest that a volcano is responsible for Bermuda's unique geology, as there hasn't been an eruption on the island for more than 31 million years.
The newly discovered structure suggests that the last eruption injected molten rock into the crust, where it froze into a raft and lifted the island 500 metres (1,640 ft) out of the sea.
Researchers from Carnegie Science traced the passage of powerful but distant earthquakes through the rock 31 miles (50km) beneath the island to make this groundbreaking find.
Dr William Frazer, a seismologist at Carnegie Science, told Live Science, "Typically, you have the bottom of the oceanic crust and then it would be expected to be the mantle. But in Bermuda, there is this other layer that is emplaced beneath the crust, within the tectonic plate that Bermuda sits on."
For geologists, this discovery could represent a significant step towards unraveling Bermuda's biggest mystery: why its oceanic swell exists. While island chains like Hawaii typically form due to volcanic activity above mantle hotspots, understanding Bermuda's extreme location could provide insights into more normal and extreme processes that occur on Earth.
The Bermuda Triangle, located between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda, is famous for its record of unexplained ship and aircraft disappearances, which has led to endless supernatural speculation. However, scientists now believe that there may be a natural, scientific explanation for these mysterious vanishings.
Dr Simon Boxall, an oceanographer from the University of Southampton, suggests that the Bermuda Triangle's record of disappearances is due to "rogue waves," also known as extreme storm waves.
These unpredictable walls of water can reach twice the height of surrounding waves, towering up to 100 feet (30 metres) in the air, and can hit unexpectedly from directions other than the prevailing wind. According to Dr Boxall, a large ship trapped by one of these killer swells could "sink in a matter of two or three minutes."
