CAF boss Motsepe intervenes in South Africa women's team dispute
Africa football boss Patrice Motsepe has intervened to resolve a dispute between the South African women's 2023 World Cup squad and the national association, a...
2023-07-05 05:29
Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan returns home after arrest, riots
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan arrived at his Lahore residence on Saturday after being freed on bail following days of legal drama and nationwide riots over...
1970-01-01 08:00
'Time to wrap it up': 'Today' host Al Roker caught in awkward moment as Sheinelle Jones reveals NSFW details during live segment
Al Roker can’t wait for his co-anchors to stop discussing as he demands 'wrap up' of show
2023-06-08 11:04
Russia upends global grain trade
Russia has cemented its position as the world's top grain exporter with the help of a bumper harvest and cut-rate prices while its war in...
2023-09-05 13:28
Scientists make disturbing discovery at the bottom of Belize's Giant Blue Hole
The ocean is home to all manner of mysteries, from “alien” shape-shifters to ancient shipwrecks. And so, when Richard Branson and a team of scientists took a submersible down to the bottom of Belize’s iconic Giant Blue Hole, they were braced for some truly extraordinary sights. The Blue Hole is the largest sinkhole in the world, measuring 300m (984 feet) across and around 125m (410 feet) deep but, until Branson’s expedition in 2018 its depths had not been fully explored. The British billionaire was joined on his groundbreaking journey by Fabien Cousteau – the grandson of pioneering underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau – and oceanographer Erika Bergman. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Their mission was to create a 3D map of the hole’s interior but, when they reached the bottom, they were met by some disturbing discoveries. To be fair, they got off to a good start. The first thing they encountered as they edged down the hole was a wall of giant stalactites, which were “breathtakingly beautiful,” according to Branson. Then, at around 300 feet, they pierced a thick layer of toxic hydrogen sulphide, plunging them into darkness and cutting out the oxygen from the water around them. In an interview with CNN, Bergman explained that once you pierce that layer, which forms naturally over centuries, “you lose all of that Caribbean sunlight and it just turns completely black.” Elsewhere, Branson described it as “extremely eerie,” saying: “We didn’t expect to see any creatures below. But when we got to the bottom we could see crabs, conches and other creatures that had fallen into the hole, arrived on the bottom and then ran out of oxygen and died.” As the team continued to travel further down into the abyss, they were faced with the remains of a tragedy. In an interview with Business Insider back in July 2020, Bergman revealed that they found the bodies of two people who have “been lost in the Blue Hole”. “We found the resting place of a couple [of] folks,” she said. “And we just sort of very respectfully let the Belize government know where we found them.” She added that “everyone decided that we would just not attempt any recovery”, noting: “It's very dark and peaceful down there, [so we] just kind of let them stay.” As they reached the bottom, the team found something else unexpected, and very much unwelcome: human rubbish. It came in the form of a 2-litre Coke bottle and a lost GoPro containing some holiday snaps, according to Business Insider. “As for the mythical monsters of the deep? Well, the real monsters facing the ocean are climate change – and plastic,” Branson lamented following the discovery. “Sadly, we saw plastic bottles at the bottom of the hole, which is a real scourge of the ocean.” The business magnate said the expedition had offered “one of the starkest reminders of the danger of climate change [he had] ever seen.” He pointed out: “The Blue Hole is made of a complex system of caves that once formed on dry land. It is proof of how oceans can rise quickly and catastrophically. “Sea levels were once hundreds of feet lower. 10,000 years ago the sea level rose by about 300 feet when a lot of ice melted around the world. At 300 feet down you could see the change in the rock where it used to be land and turned into sea.” He added in his blog: “Hopefully by this trip taking place we have raised even more awareness of the need to protect the ocean and tackle climate change now – before it is too late.” He stressed that he didn’t want his grandchildren to “grow up in a world without corals, without the wonders of the ocean”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-08-08 17:07
Bills enter their bye week at 6-6 and stinging from a series of close calls and late-game collapses
The Buffalo Bills enter their bye week off at 6-6 and stinging from a series of close calls and late-game collapses
2023-12-01 07:55
Smoke hangs over U.S. Midwest, East, hurting air quality
By Brendan O'Brien CHICAGO (Reuters) -Hazy, smoke-filled skies from raging Canadian wildfires hovered Wednesday over the U.S. Midwest and East,
2023-06-29 03:05
Scarlett Johansson is a full-fledged Disney adult despite that lawsuit
Scarlett Johansson may have sued Disney in 2021 for breach of contract, but the "Black Widow" star still is -- and always has been -- a full-fledged Disney adult. (A Disney adult can be defined in many ways depending on one's level of fandom, but the term tends to refer to a grown person that is a dedicated Disney fan.)
1970-01-01 08:00
See 543 Disney characters pose for a group photo in 'Once Upon a Studio'
As Disney celebrates its 100 year anniversary on Monday, the walls of the company's animation studio come alive in the new short film, "Once Upon a Studio."
2023-10-17 03:22
Joey Bosa Was in Tears After Hurting Foot vs. Packers
Joey Bosa broke down as he was carted to the locker room after getting hurt.
2023-11-20 02:26
Biden's choice to lead the Federal Aviation Administration wins endorsement from a key Senate panel
President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration has moved a step closer to Senate confirmation
2023-10-18 23:06
Rays vs. Mariners prediction and odds for Friday, June 30 (Value on early-inning prop)
The 2023 season has gone very differently for the Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners.After making the playoffs last season, the Mariners have taken a massive step back, sitting in fourth place in the NL West at about the halfway points of the season. Meanwhile the Rays are elite, sitting in fir...
2023-07-01 04:40
You Might Like...
Eyewall replacement cycle: Last-minute phenomenon dramatically alters Hurricane Idalia's impact on Florida
Get lifetime access to StackSkills Unlimited for under £30
Assassin’s Creed Codename RED Revealed
Israel's Netanyahu recovers from heart procedure while tensions surge over judicial overhaul plan
Gladbach part ways with manager Daniel Farke
Haq 50 steers Pakistan to 4-wicket win over Sri Lanka in 1st Test
Max Verstappen criticises Las Vegas GP as F1 drivers presented to crowd in ‘Hunger Games’ reveal
The Best Employee Monitoring Software for 2023