Hole in ocean floor.Hole in ocean floor The deep-sea floor generates more excitement each year, as scientists continue to uncover signs that they need to revise their image of this realm as a quiet and static place. Recently, oceanographers have observed storms of intense currents that occasionally sweep patches of the ocean floor. Now a group of researchers has discovered evidence that a natural seafloor explosion blew open a large crater in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico Noun 1. Gulf of Mexico - an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico Golfo de Mexico Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east , they report in the Jan. 27 SCIENCE. Using high-resolution sonar equipment, David B. Prior from Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. in Baton Rouge and his colleagues identified the crater in 2,176 meters of water southeast of the Mississippi River delta For other uses, see Mississippi Delta (disambiguation) The Mississippi River Delta is the modern area of land (the river delta) built up by alluvium deposited by the Mississippi River as it slows down and enters the Gulf of Mexico. . The elliptical el·lip·tic or el·lip·ti·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or having the shape of an ellipse. 2. Containing or characterized by ellipsis. 3. a. hole measures 280 meters across, 400 meters long and some 58 meters deep, and sits atop a small hill. Downslope n. 1. a downward slope. Noun 1. downslope - a downward slope or bend declivity, declination, declension, fall, decline, descent downhill - the downward slope of a hill lies approximately 2 million cubic meters of ejected sediment. Because the area is known for its reservoirs of hydrocarbons, Prior surmises these substances caused the explosion that produced the crater. As one possible explanation, he suggests hydrocarbons seeping upward along cracks in the seafloor might have collected under some impermeable barrier until pressure forced the buoyant gas to blow off its cover. Based on the crater's appearance, the researchers think it may be younger than a century old. In 1906, sailors in the area reported seeing bubbling water, which may have been caused by such an eruption. |
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