11.
German Submarine U-534
The Type IX C40 U-534 was a long-range submarine that the German Navy used from 1942 to 1945.
It was used primarily for testing weapons and also functioned as a weather ship in the
North Atlantic.
In late 1944, the vessel returned to Germany and was laid up in the port city of Kiel.
The Germans surrendered to the Allies on May 4, 1945.
By then, the submarine had left the port.
A British Royal Air Force bomber sank U-534 the next day near the Danish island of Anholt.
All 52 personnel aboard managed to escape, and 49 ultimately survived and were rescued.
Sadly, two men drowned while awaiting rescue and another perished while rising to the water’s
surface.
Experts have long wondered where the submarine was headed when it was shot down, especially
since it left port right around the time the Germans surrendered.
There was an Argentinian woman aboard, suggesting that the vessel may have been bound for South
America.
But no one will ever know for sure, because only the submarine’s captain knew where
it was going, and he took the secret to his grave.
A Danish wreck diver named Aage Jensen discovered U-534 in 1986 amid rumors that there was Nazi
treasure aboard.
The ship was raised, and although it turned out to contain nothing of monetary value,
it offered a historically valuable glimpse back in time.
10.
Massive Coral Reef
The world’s oceans make up the vastest yet least understood region of the Earth.
Divers have just discovered a massive coral reef off the coast of Tahiti.
Filled with rose-colored corals, it measures roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 200 feet
(61 meters) wide.
The reef sits between 98 and 213 feet (30-65 meters) underwater in the Pacific Ocean.
Experts are perplexed because corals typically need sunlight and the warmth of shallow waters
to flourish.
Most coral reefs are no more than 82 feet (25 meters) beneath the waves.
Yet the corals at the newly discovered reef don’t just survive – at up to 6-and-a-half
feet (2 meters) across, they’re thriving.
In a statement, UNESCO said that it appears to be one of the “most extensive healthy
coral reefs on record.”
It was found thanks to advancing technology, which has led to the development of equipment
that enables divers to explore greater depths, and for longer periods of time.
They plan to continue studying this uncharted territory to see what other surprises it may
hold.
Would you want to explore this newly-discovered coral reef?
Tell me in the comments!
9.
USS Muskallunge
The USS Muskallunge was an American Navy submarine that served from 1942 to 1968.
It was used during World War II to attack Japanese convoys, including passenger freighters
and cargo ships, according to the U.S. military’s Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).
For several years, it was under the command of the Brazilian navy as the Humaitá.
After several decades of service, it returned to the U.S. and was sunk during a live-fire
training exercise off the shore of Long Island in New York.
A torpedo ripped it in two, and both sections quickly sank to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Parts of the vehicle imploded as it plunged to high-pressure depths that it wasn’t designed
to withstand.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) described the submarine as being “crushed
like a soda can” by the time it hit the seafloor.
Late last year, the agency released footage of its discovery of the wreck.
After being notified of the possible location of the wreck site, a team investigated by
sending a remote underwater robot 2,000 feet (610 meters) below the surface.
The Muskallunge still has identifiable features even after its violent plummet to the sea
bottom, with the white letters “S14” identifying it as a former Brazilian navy vessel.
It was discovered as part of a project that aimed to test remotely operated vehicles at
various depths.
There are an estimated three million shipwrecks scattered throughout the world’s waterways.
This was the first time scientists got the opportunity to visit the Muskallunge, and
there are countless others waiting to be seen up close.
8.
A Vehicle Graveyard
Divers at Lake Whitney near Waco and Fort Worth, Texas found more than a dozen submerged
vehicles recently while searching for human remains.
Officials received a tip that the body of a man who disappeared 13 years ago might be
in the lake, so they sent a team into the water.
Two of the vehicles were in good enough condition to be removed from the lakebed, where they
sat between 40 and 65 feet (12-20 meters) underwater.
Six others were investigated, but were too deteriorated to remove.
The Bosque County Sheriff’s Office announced the discovery of the cars on social media,
but didn’t elaborate on whether any of them might belong to the missing man, John Creech.
He mysteriously vanished 13 years ago.
Police have investigated numerous leads, but have only gained limited evidence on what
might have happened to him.
The divers who found the vehicles are a highly-skilled team from Adventures With Purpose, an organization
that searches bodies of water for missing people across the U.S. Since 2019, they’ve
recovered over 100 submerged vehicles.
7.
WWII Submarine Wreck
The Italian submarine Jantina was built in 1932.
The 200-foot-long (61 meter) vessel left the Greek island of Leros on July 5, 1941 with
48 sailors on board.
It sank in the Aegean Sea after being hit by British torpedoes.
There were only six survivors, who swam to the nearby island of Delo.
A team led by renowned Greek diver Kostas Thoctarides recently discovered the Jantina
wreck off the island of Mykonos using a remotely operated vehicle.
It sits 338 feet (103 meters) beneath the waves and is the fourth wrecked submarine
that Thoctarides has found.
Speaking with journalists, he described the confrontation of two submarines as a “rare
naval event.”
Italy’s Naval History Office confirmed through records that the newly discovered wreck is
the Jantina.
6.
The World’s Deepest-Dwelling Squid
While hunting for the wrecked World War II-era destroyer USS Johnston in the Philippine Sea
last year, a team of researchers recorded rare footage of the world’s deepest-dwelling
squid species.
The elusive bigfin squid is seldom seen – in fact, there are only a dozen or so confirmed
sightings of the creature worldwide.
The new video was captured at a depth of 20,300 feet (6,200 meters) using a remotely operated
vehicle.
It was seen just above the ocean floor and appeared to be a juvenile.
Until now, the deepest-ever bigfin squid was spotted at 15,400 feet (4,700 meters) below
the water’s surface.
In addition to the deep-dwelling squid, the team recorded four dumbo octopuses.
It’s only the second time the species has been observed so deep – which, according
to study co-author Michael Vecchione, proves that the previous deep-sea sightings of the
creature in the Java Trench weren’t simply flukes.
He explained that the sighting raised some questions, like how bigfin squid and other
species survive at depths where the water pressure is 600 times greater than it is at
the surface.
But even when one mystery leads to another, scientific discoveries are still being made.
5.
A Vast Canyon
The Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina recently embarked on its maiden voyage and made a fascinating
discovery along the way.
While traveling near East Antarctica in the Southern Ocean, the team detected a 1.2-mile
(2 km) deep canyon.
It extends 34 miles (55 km) from the Vanderford Glacier and is about 6,600 feet (2,000 meters)
wide.
Scientists had surveyed the area regularly for some time, but it was the first time anyone
noticed the canyon.
At one point in history, it was 37 miles (60 km) longer than it is now.
The trench is slowly moving away from the Vanderford Glacier, but it serves as evidence
of how big the glacier may have been tens of thousands of years ago, according to voyage
leader Lloyd Symons, who spoke with local news stations.
While sailing through an area with limited mapping, the team used echosounders to map
the ocean floor.
The technology measures the depth of the seabed by sending out beams and measures how long
it takes for them to echo back.
Scientists will use the new data to study the impacts the trench may be having on climate
change.
What do you think these kinds of discoveries mean for science?
Are there other hidden seafloor features?
Tell me your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to like and subscribe as well!
4.
Foreign Spy Devices
Eleven fishermen in China’s East Jiangsu Province were recently rewarded by the government
for capturing 10 suspicious foreign spying devices in the country’s waters.
The devices, which have all been found since 2020, appear to be equipped with spy technology.
They were all manufactured in other countries and had various functions installed, including
underwater investigation, identification and theft.
For understandable reasons, the devices are seen as a threat to Chinese national security.
Which is why the fishermen who found them are being praised for their seemingly heroic
actions.
It was reported that it’s becoming increasingly common for citizens to discover suspicious
devices in China’s territorial waters, and to turn them over to authorities for further
examination.
Internet users who commented on stories about the discoveries were overwhelmingly in favor
of protecting national security, demonstrating a widespread awareness of how important it
is to act in the country’s best interests.
Since 2016, officials in Jiangsu have been holding annual conferences to reward fishermen
for finding spy devices.
The conferences aim not only to compensate citizens for a job well done, but to raise
awareness among fishermen about how they can help keep China safe from spies.
As international relations between China and other countries have become more complex in
recent years, there’s been a noticeable uptick in the presence of spy technology,
according to national security expert Li Wei.
To combat the heightened intrusiveness, the government has stepped up its rewards program
for reporting threats.
The cash payouts run as high as $78,732.
3.
The World’s Deepest Shipwreck
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Johnston sank to the bottom of the Philippine Sea during
the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.
The 377-foot-long (115 meters) vessel was finally rediscovered in 2019.
It sits 21,325 feet (6,500 meters) beneath the waves, making it the deepest shipwreck
ever found.
Earlier this year, an exploration team descended nearly four miles (6.4 km) to the seafloor
in the deepest shipwreck dive in history.
Over the course of two eight-hour dives, they located and surveyed the front two-thirds
of the wreck.
The researchers found that its hull number, 577, is still visible.
Several fixtures remain in place, including gun turrets, twin torpedo racks, and numerous
gun mounts.
The Johnston sustained damage from being hit by the Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, which
was the biggest warship ever built at the time.
Out of 327 crew members, 141 survived.
Navy records show that around 50 men were killed by enemy action and 45 died on life
rafts from their injuries.
Ninety-one crew members, including Captain Ernest Evans, initially made it onto the lifeboats
but were never seen or heard from again.
2.
Missing Plane Wreck
On New Year’s Day 1965, a small plane crashed into California’s Folsom Lake, tragically
killing all four people aboard.
News outlets told the heartbreaking story of a family who lost 15-year-old Glen Amick
in the accident.
He was out sightseeing in the plane when his life was unexpectedly cut short.
Glen’s brother, Frank Wilcox, was only three years old at the time of the crash.
But he longed for closure about what happened to Glen and spent decades searching for clues
about his older brother’s fate.
Unfortunately, Wilcox passed away without ever finding the answers he was looking for.
Last year, a pair of researchers named Jeff Riley and Tyler Atkinson found what they believe
may be the wrecked plane while testing new underwater sonar technology for a company
called Seafloor Systems.
The equipment detected something “artificial” in the deepest part of the lake, but the water
was too murky to tell what it was.
Riley and Atkinson returned to the site with a remotely operated vehicle and sent it 160
feet (49 meters) underwater to investigate.
The water was still too cloudy to see much.
On their third visit, the two men attached a sonar device to the ROV and finally obtained
images of what they were trying to see.
Sitting on the lakebed was a fully intact, silt-covered plane.
Several parts of it were visible, but the explorers couldn’t see inside the cockpit
or make out its identification number.
They credited the lake’s unusually low water levels with helping them discover the long
missing aircraft, which plunged into the water 57 years ago.
Riley told a local news station that he found the prospect of giving families closure rewarding.
Thanks to the unexpected discovery, surviving relatives may now finally be able to properly
grieve.
1.
Submerged Cave
There’s a spring at Roaring River State Park in Missouri that, until recently, was
thought to be 224 feet (68 meters) deep.
But a team of divers made a shocking discovery last year while filming and mapping the spring.
They ventured where nobody else had ever gone, descending around 250 feet (76 meters) underwater
and even deeper into an unexplored cave system.
The divers were able to go 344 feet (105 meters) down and dropped a weight to 365 feet (111
meters).
Lead diver Mike Young told newspapers that the visibility was “phenomenal.”
The cave system appears to be enormous.
In the past, dive teams could only go to a certain depth because they lacked the technology
to go further.
They also encountered a narrow restriction that prevented them from going any deeper
than 224 feet (68 meters).
The divers who discovered the cave system managed to get past the restriction and traveled
hundreds of feet past what was considered once the “bottom” of the spring.
Little by little, they plan to continue exploring it.
Which of today’s underwater discoveries is most interesting?
Tell me in the comments!
That’s all for today and thanks for watching!
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