The Blue Hole Mission aims to understand the unique, unexplored feature of the ocean floor

Have you ever wondered, “What is the blue hole”? The Blue Hole is located in the Gulf of Florida and is an ecological diversity hotspot that attracts several marine creatures. The Blue Hole called ‘Green Banana’ is about 300 feet deep and opens at about 155 feet below sea level. According to Independent reports, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will fund a mission to explore the Blue Hole, this month. The Blue Hole is also known as the Green Banana or the Sink Hole. This team will comprise of members from Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida Atlantic University, Mote Marine Laboratory, and the US Geological Survey.

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This mission will help to answer several questions about the Blue Hole. With this mission, researchers hope to know if the water inside the Blue Hole differs from the ocean water. Further, researchers also aim to know about the unique features of the hole. The process of its formation also remains unknown to researchers. According to some studies, the Blue Hole has been created by freshwater springs. According to the study, the freshwater springs flush out materials from beneath the seafloor, which in turn, leads to the creation of a gap.

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This area is reportedly famous amongst divers, since the water here is extremely clean as compared to the rest of the ocean. The Blue Hole mission will be like a NASA probe to another planet. However, in this case, the lander will be placed in the Green Banana. This will help scientists to collect samples of the Blue Hole. These samples will help them study the difference in environmental conditions.

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Further, this mission also aims to gather information about the unique features of the ocean floor. According to a study, Blue Holes that crop up near one another might be connected to each other. The study also claims that the springs may have formed as a result of underground hidden cave network.

Statements given by officials:

Emily Hall, a staff scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory said that the mission was initially going to take place in Spring. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the mission got postponed according to CNN. She also said that several people had compared the Green Banana Mission to a space mission. However, Hall said that they were not sure what kind of information would be unearthed from this mission. The researchers would, however, try their best and keep exploring, she concluded.

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All images sourced from Unsplash