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A recent study has confirmed that an underwater sinkhole in Mexico’s Chetumal Bay is the deepest in the world. Located near the Chicxulub crater, where a dinosaur-killing asteroid struck the planet 66 million years ago, this abyss remains shrouded in mystery.
Blue holes are formed when water seeps through cracks on the seafloor, dissolving minerals and creating sinkholes. The Taam Ja’ Blue Hole, situated off the southeast coast of Mexico, surpasses the Dragon Hole in the South China Sea with a depth of at least 420m compared to 300m for Dragon Hole’s bottom.
In 2021, researchers initially believed Taam Ja’ Blue Hole was about 275m deep but a new study showed it to be deeper. Using advanced technology, they were able to explore deeper into the ocean and measure its depth accurately. In December 2023, they anchored a vessel near Taam Ja’ Blue Hole and dropped a line to determine its depth as being at least 420m deep with potential for even greater depths.
The water within this hole exhibits various layers of temperature and salinity with one layer at approximately 400m having similar values to those found nearby in Caribbean Sea. This discovery raises possibilities about potential connections between these two bodies of water at an underwater seabed level which could lead to unexplored biodiversity and unique physicochemical processes that require further exploration and study.
