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Science & Technology

Mysterious lines show up in the Caspian Sea

By T.K. Randall
May 2, 2016 · Comment icon 11 comments

The image focuses on the area around Novyy Island. Image Credit: NASA / Norman Kuring
A chaotic pattern of scour marks in the Tyuleniy Archipelago has been photographed by a NASA satellite.
First noticed by scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center last month, the peculiar lines criss-crossing the world's largest inland body of water have proven rather perplexing.

Captured using the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite, the photograph shows an area of the Caspian Sea that looks like it has been scoured using a Brillo Pad.


The answer, as it turns out, is a process known as ice gouging.
The water in this region of the Caspian Sea is actually very shallow - only around 10ft deep - and sea ice on the surface is also relatively thin at around 1.6ft thick.

Over time the winds and ocean currents can sculpt this ice in to jagged patterns known as hummocks which can sometimes reach as far as the seabed.

When the wind blows this floating ice around on the surface, the protruding parts underneath can drag along the ocean floor and create the line patterns seen in the satellite image.

Source: Live Science | Comments (11)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #2 Posted by bubblykiss 8 years ago
It was fairly mysterious for the first 2 paragraphs.
Comment icon #3 Posted by Hawkin 8 years ago
No Unexplained-Mysteries about this!
Comment icon #4 Posted by DeeSember 8 years ago
Looked like abstract art, kinda pretty.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Chibadiba 8 years ago
It must be alie...ice...it has to be ice!
Comment icon #6 Posted by Kiltedmusician 8 years ago
So if there's no mystery and NASA already knew what caused it then why did they tweet, "What's causing this? Trawlers?" Are they testing us? Did they want us to come up with our own silly ideas so they could then explain it and look smart? It's like, NASA - "What's this? Could it be space aliens? Haha, no. It's a drone in the moonlight.
Comment icon #7 Posted by Hawkin 8 years ago
So if there's no mystery and NASA already knew what caused it then why did they tweet, "What's causing this? Trawlers?" Are they testing us? Did they want us to come up with our own silly ideas so they could then explain it and look smart? It's like, NASA - "What's this? Could it be space aliens? Haha, no. It's a drone in the moonlight. Just for kick's, you should have said it was caused by USO's. Then next thing you know, you'll hear the trampling feet of skeps.
Comment icon #8 Posted by Doug1029 8 years ago
Several mill stones were recovered from a sunken wreck near my hometown (Ashtabula, Ohio). The wreck was the "Coulimore" and it lay in 60 feet of water. The stones had been cracked in multiple places by the weight of wind-blown ice. Sixty feet down, yet. One of those stones is on display at the Ashtabula Marine and Surface Transportation Museum. Doug
Comment icon #9 Posted by eddword 8 years ago
This forum should be titled...Uh! Explained Mysteries!
Comment icon #10 Posted by Geeky Girl 8 years ago
Maybe someone tampered with the photo's?
Comment icon #11 Posted by seaturtlehorsesnake 8 years ago
Just for kick's, you should have said it was caused by USO's. Then next thing you know, you'll hear the trampling feet of skeps. united service organizations? i knew it!


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