The Taam ja’ is blue hole is still defined by what we don’t know. We can say it’s deeper than 1,390 feet, and the bottom hasn’t been found.

From the surface, Chetumal Bay looks almost placid – just a wide sheet of water with no hint of drama underneath. But below that calm is Taam ja’, a massive underwater sinkhole, or “blue hole,” that’s turned into an unexpected mystery for scientists.

At first, the plan seemed straightforward: map it with sonar, get a depth, move on. Instead, the early readings created a bigger problem – what if Taam ja’ isn’t anywhere near as shallow as those first numbers suggested?

The most recent measurements point to a hole that drops far deeper than expected, and the true bottom may still be out of reach…

  • someguy3@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 hours ago

    Below about 1,300 feet (400 meters), the trend shifted. Temperature began to creep upward slightly while salinity climbed even higher. That combination suggests the deeper water has a different origin – its own distinct “signature.”

    When the team compared the measurements to nearby regional waters, the upper layers lined up with the bay’s mixed, lower-salinity water. The deepest measured layers, though, moved toward values more typical of Caribbean marine water.

    That doesn’t prove there’s one big open tunnel connecting Taam ja’ directly to the Caribbean, but it does support the idea that the deepest water isn’t coming only from the bay above.