What is Blue Hole?
A blue hole is a large underwater sinkhole or cavern that forms in an island or bank made of carbonate bedrock, such as limestone or coral reef. It is open to the surface. Water with fresh, marine, or mixed chemistry that is impacted by tides is usually found in blue holes. For the most part, they stretch below sea level and could offer access to underwater cave systems. The most famous examples are the Great Blue Hole, Dean’s Blue Hole in the Caribbean, and the Dragon Hole in the South China Sea.
Over millions of years, blue holes are formed when the surrounding rock erodes. As sea levels rose, many of the dry caves that had formed during the last ice period were submerged underwater. Blue holes are habitats for corals and other marine life, which protect various kinds of living things. On the ocean floor, blue holes are host to historic limestone caverns. They could be rich ecological communities with many kinds of marine creatures, such as sharks, sea turtles, molluscs, sponges, and corals.
Blue Hole
Blue Hole: A blue hole is an underwater, large marine sinkhole or cavern. They can cover areas bigger than cities and are hundreds of meters long. Carbonate bedrock, such as coral reefs or limestone, makes up blue holes. They may contain tidally-influenced fresh, marine, or mixed water. By releasing nutrients, some of the holes help the biodiversity in their natural surroundings. Off the coast of Mexico, a blue hole measuring 900 feet deep was found in 2021. In February 2023, a study on the blue hole was first published in the Frontiers in Marine Science publication.
In this article, we will read about Blue Hole, interesting facts about them, the formation of blue hole, their location, biodiversity, and the great blue hole of Belize.
Table of Content
- What is Blue Hole?
- Facts about Blue Hole
- Formation of Blue Hole
- Blue Hole Location
- Blue Hole Biodiversity
- Sedimentation in Blue Holes
- Fossil Preservation in Blue Holes
- Great Blue Hole – Belize
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