Lead
Researchers have discovered a strange phenomenon off the coast of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, where a large area of the sea has been disturbed and turbulent due to the huge increase in the number of abnormal bubbles on the seabed.
What's even more peculiar is that this has been going on for quite some time, and according to the local people, this phenomenon has not been getting better since several months ago, and it is still going on, and there is no sign of going away for a long time.
Such a wide range of bubbles will inevitably cause people to wonder, especially the researchers, who have scratched their heads for a long time and have not found an answer, what is the matter with such an abnormal situation?
There are many people who suspect that this is a precursor to a major earthquake, but whether this claim is valid depends on the evidence.
So what's going on with all this bubbling gas on the ocean floor?
Causes of bubbles on the seabed.
Raising such questions, the researchers eagerly got on board in search of answers, and conducted on-the-spot exploration of these anomalies, hoping to find a practical cause.
However, this is not the first time they have heard of this anomaly, and there are many cases of bubbles in the sea around Japan, but the cause of this bubble is not clear.
Some people believe that this is because the sudden geological activity on the seabed broke the original calm, and the gas gushed out from the cracks, becoming these bubbles; Some people also believe that the carbon dioxide emitted by the cleaning of the submarine volcano is continuously released, which greatly makes the seabed become this decadent appearance; However, there is another theory that the bubbles are caused by the sediment and decomposition of methane-rich sediment buried under the coast of Ishikawa Prefecture, and carbon dioxide and other gases released by organic matter rise to the surface.
So does this mean that these bubbles are carbon dioxide produced by the decay process of life in the ocean that dies and is deposited on the seafloor?
All three of these statements have their own truth, they are not unacceptable, and they can all find a supporting proof for the generation of these bubbles from a certain angle.
But in the current situation, researchers believe that the most likely is the first statement, and the key to this is the word "earthquake".
Researchers have also found some evidence in the countdown work around Japan, suggesting that bubbles on the seafloor are a precursor to an earthquake, and that more and denser gas is usually rising from the bottom of the ocean when the actual earthquake occurs.
When an earthquake occurs, a large amount of energy is released, and the number of bubbles that are ejected onto the surface of the water is drastically reduced, and eventually disappears.
Moreover, this phenomenon is not very regular, usually every few decades or centuries, so there is still a certain accuracy rate.
But earthquakes are not the only cause of bubbles on the seabed, and it can even be said that the vast majority of bubbles on the seabed are not caused by earthquakes:
In addition to volcanic activity, researchers have also found large bubbles caused by tectonic activity in Japan's waters, such as the presence of fault zones.
When a fault zone is active, the rock formations in the ground break up, releasing a large amount of gaseous energy, including earthquakes, but also bubbles on the ocean floor.
The effects of bubbles on the seabed.
Bubbles on the seabed not only cause the bubbles themselves to violently impact the surface of the sea under the influence of seawater, but also have a huge impact on the surrounding organisms.
But these effects are not absolutely negative, for example, the organisms that inhabit the ocean are very adaptable, and the organisms that live on the bottom of the sea have become very robust and able to adapt to a variety of environments over a long evolutionary process.
Therefore, the effect of bubbles on the seabed is mainly to increase the oxygen gas in the seawater, so that these organisms can better grow and reproduce.
Not only does the bubble contain a lot of oxygen, but also a lot of carbon dioxide, which is mostly toxic, but is also very beneficial for plants.
When the light conditions are sufficient, plants will use the energy of sunlight to synthesize carbon dioxide and water into glucose, realizing a growth process similar to photosynthesis, and storing a lot of energy for their own growth.
Sometimes, when the carbon dioxide in the bubbles overflows, the calcium ions in the water become unstable, resulting in the formation of a large amount of calcium carbonate precipitation.
This rich alkaline substance is easily dissolved in neutral seawater, and when the alkaline substance is released in large quantities, it will become less soluble when it precipitates in large quantities, and cannot play a role in regulating the pH value in seawater.
After a large amount of calcium carbonate is dissolved in seawater, the pH of seawater will gradually increase, which is even harmful to some seabed organisms that do not need an alkaline environment, because a high alkaline environment will dramatically reduce the transparency of seawater, reduce the light capacity, and affect the growth of seabed plants.
Bubbles bubble up at the bottom of the sea in the waters of Ishikawa Prefecture.
However, the large-scale bubbles on the seabed are not only limited to the seabed, but also spread to the surrounding coastline, affecting the ecological environment and people's lives on the shore.
On the other hand, while volcanic activity, a derivative of bubbles on the ocean floor, can also bring certain benefits, such as the oxygen gas mentioned above, it is also one of the biggest threats to marine life.
Researchers have found that when volcanoes are active, volcanoes spew out large amounts of magma and lava, but that's not all, and the next problem is even more serious:
Under the cooling of the seawater and the violent physical collision, the particles of lava and magma will quickly turn into tiny particles, these small particles are carbon dioxide cells, although they may not seem like a big deal, but they can cause great damage when stacked in large quantities.
Especially for plankton and fish, if these fine particles are inhaled into the lungs, they will die in an instant due to lack of oxygen, and they will be suspended in the water under the action of seawater, which becomes a greater hazard.
As the corpses decompose, they continue to release large amounts of carbon dioxide, which becomes more harmful, so even for the huge benefit of ruling out calcium pyroate precipitation, the researchers hope to find the real cause of these bubbles on the ocean floor and reassure the marine creatures and people.
epilogue
It has to be said that the greatness of nature lies in this complex series of systems and interactions.
More in-depth exploration of bubbles in the waters of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan will require the unremitting efforts of researchers to find the final answer and bring more benefits.