Journey To Green Banana – A Huge Mystererious Blue Hole Off Florida’s Coast Where Scientists Look For Unknown Lifeforms

Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com –  Scientists have embarked on a journey to investigate a huge, mysterious, deep blue hole off Florida’s Coast. The goal of the mission is to explore what’s hidden inside. Will researchers find unknown lifeforms or something else? Time will tell.

Blue holes are underwater sinkholes, similar to sinkholes on land. Underwater sinkholes, springs, and caverns are karst (calcium carbonate rock) features that are scattered across Florida’s Gulf continental shelf. They vary in size, shape and depth, but most are ecological hot spots with a high diversity of abundance of plants and animals.

The NOAA-backed expedition to the blue hole dubbed “Green Banana” will focus on determining if exotic lifeforms may be present underwater.

What Is A Blue Hole And Why Do They Exist?

Scientists have no idea how many blue holes exist or where they are most likely to be found, NOAA says. However, they do know that a blue hole can be an oasis in an otherwise barren seafloor. Blue holes are diverse biological communities full of marine life, including corals, sponges, mollusks, sea turtles, sharks, and more. The seawater chemistry in the holes is unique and appears to interact with groundwater and possibly aquifer layers. This link contributes to the knowledge of carbon cycling between surface and groundwater.

Little is known about blue holes due to their lack of accessibility and unknown distribution and abundance. The opening of a blue hole can be several hundred feet underwater, and for many holes, the opening is too small for an automated submersible.

A diver’s view looking up to the opening of Amberjack Hole. Image courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory.

In fact, the first reports of blue holes did not come from scientists or researchers, but actually came from fishermen and recreational divers. Now, the two groups are working together to conduct scientific surveys and exploration of these mysterious holes.

What Can We Learn?

We don’t know much about blue holes, so many exploratory questions remain. From this “mission,” scientists are hoping to learn:

• Whether these submersed sinkholes are connected to Florida’s groundwater or if there is groundwater intrusion into the Gulf of Mexico
• If a particular blue hole is secreting nutrients and thus affecting an area’s primary production
• Whether microenvironments harbor unique or new species of microbes
• If the Amberjack site should become a protected area

If we are lucky, scientists may tell us about some unknown lifeforms they discovered!

Written by Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com Staff Writer