‘Taam-Ja’: World’s deepest blue hole discovered in Mexico; get to know – World

The biggest blue hole in the world, the Taam-Ja’was discovered in the Yucatán Peninsula, in Mexico, close to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, surrounded by Caribbean waters. The scientists responsible for the discovery managed to measure more than 420 meters deep, even without reaching the deepest point of the hole, equivalent to the height of 11 Christ the Redeemers one on top of the other.

Blue holes They are types of underwater holes, similar to holes on land. According to the study carried out by Mexican researchers, there is the possibility that the site has a hidden underground network that connects the water of Taam-Ja’ with that of other bodies of water.

According to research published in the journal Frontiers in Science on April 29, scientists used a conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) profiler.

In September 2021, an expedition on Taam-Ja’ recorded that the site was 274.4 meters below sea level. Therefore, the hole was below the 300 meter depth of the Sansha Yongle sea hole, located in the China Sea.

Taam-Ja’

Taam-Ja’ has an almost circular shape that reaches 13,690 m². At the mouth of the hole, the characteristics of the water change significantly.

The study also found that, in water layers below 400 meters, the conditions of temperature, salinity and water density increase again. These characteristics are close to those presented by the surface of the Caribbean Sea, coral lakes and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, suggesting an underground connection between these bodies of water and the hole.

The researchers also raised another hypothesis that the increase in temperature in layers below 400 meters is geothermal activity. On the surface of the hole there is turbidity, which decreases at a depth of four meters, where it is now possible to see the edge clearly.

According to the study, fragile and brittle sedimentary rocks make up the walls of the first few meters of the hole. Between 25 meters and 30 meters the walls are already firm, but without a biological cover due to the reduction in light penetration.