At the bottom of the ocean just off the coast of California there is an underwater phenomenon that has been puzzling scientists. Unlike most other areas of the seafloor, this one is covered in deep holes and no one really knows how they got there.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 At the bottom of the ocean just off the coast of California,
00:06 there is an underwater phenomenon
00:08 that has been puzzling scientists.
00:10 Unlike other areas of the seafloor,
00:11 this one is covered in deep holes,
00:13 and no one really knows how they got there.
00:15 It's been named the Sir Pockmark Field,
00:18 as it's just off the coast of Big Sur.
00:20 And the historical theory has been
00:21 that the holes were caused by methane gas release.
00:24 However, during a recent probe to see the area's viability
00:27 for a wind farm, experts say they have found little evidence
00:30 of methane.
00:30 So what's going on?
00:32 The Sir Pockmark Field is located
00:34 at depths ranging from around 1,600
00:36 to around 5,000 feet underwater.
00:38 And there are more than 5,200 of these holes
00:40 covering an area the size of Los Angeles,
00:42 with each one on average around 574 feet wide.
00:46 Now, after a significant data collection period,
00:48 the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
00:51 and Stanford University experts believe
00:53 they have an idea about what caused these holes.
00:55 They say the holes are located on top of a continental slope,
00:58 and the samples they have collected have revealed
01:00 that large amounts of sediment has slid downward.
01:02 Part of this could have been caused
01:04 by an ancient earthquake some 14,000 years ago,
01:06 resulting in a slope collapse that they say
01:09 could have eroded the center of each of these pockmarks.
01:11 With the researchers adding,
01:12 "We were unable to determine exactly how these pockmarks
01:15 "were initially formed,
01:16 "but with MBARI's advanced underwater technology,
01:19 "we've gained new insight into how and why these features
01:22 "have persisted on the seafloor
01:24 "for hundreds of thousands of years."
01:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:29 (gentle music)