The Bermuda Triangle, a mysterious location between Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and France has a long history of deadly wrecks. It is known as a location with the strangest phenomena on Earth. From sinister ghost ships to vanishing aircraft, the Bermuda Triangle has always been surrounded by endless supernatural speculation.
Now, an oceanographer from the University of Southampton, Dr Simon Boxall, has claimed to have solved the mystery surrounding the Bermuda Triangle. According to the scientist, the disappearance in the location is due to extreme storm waves, known as rogue waves.
Dr. Boxall said the waves are abnormally steep, towering up to 100 feet (30 metres) in the air, and can unexpectedly hit from different directions. Explaining further, he said these killer swells can easily trap a large ship, which could sink in a matter of two or three minutes.
"There are storms to the south and north, which come together. And if there are additional ones from Florida, it can be a potentially deadly formation of rogue waves. They are steep, they are high - we've measured waves in excess of 30 metres. If that happens, it can sink in a matter of two or three minutes. The bigger the ship, the more damage is done," Dr Boxall explained.
Mystery Surrounding USS Cyclops' Disappearance
The disappearance of the USS Cyclops, an American coal-carrying ship, caused widespread rumors about the Bermuda Triangle's deadly pull. The ship vanished even without a distress signal in March 1918 while it was passing through the Bermuda Triangle on its way from Salvador, in Brazil, to Baltimore. Although extensive research was carried out for the missing ship, there were no traces of its 306 crew members and the 542-foot (165-metre) vessel.
Dr. Boxall said that the USS Cyclops could have been sunk by a rogue wave. For his research, the scientist used a scale model of the USS Cyclops with his colleagues to find how the vessel could react to the killer swells. The scientists observed that the rogue waves would take some time to overwhelm the ship due to its massive size and flat base.
The killer swells could suspend a ship between its peaks, leaving the middle of the vessel hanging over the trough. So, it could be difficult to make a distress call before sinking deep into the ocean. Dr. Boxall was speaking on the Channel 5 documentary series.
However, not every scientist is convinced about the mystery surrounding the Bermuda Triangle. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated that there is no evidence that any greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in any other large, well-travelled area of the ocean caused the mysterious disappearance.
"There is no evidence that mysterious disappearances occur with any greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in any other large, well-travelled area of the ocean. Environmental considerations could explain many, if not most, of the disappearances. The large number of islands in the Caribbean Sea creates many areas of shallow water that can be treacherous to ship navigation," NOAA stated.
