World's biggest mystery explained: The Bermuda triangle

Nov 11, 2012: The Bermuda Triangle is located off the South-Eastern coast of the United States and in the Atlantic Ocean. The three corners of the triangle are: Miami (Florida); San Juan (Puerto Rico); and Bermuda (the north-Atlantic island). There have been a number of mysterious vanishings and unsolved mysteries in this stretch of ocean. Most of people believe that the Bermuda Triangle is a dangerous place to venture. More than 1000 ships and planes have disappeared in the triangle area over the past five centuries and continue to do so. The accidents have mostly taken place near the southern boundary of the triangle between Florida and Puerto Rico.Many believe that Devil is at play here and therefore call the area also as Devil's Triangle. There are many stories and myths created through sheer imagination of writers who have used them rampantly to draw publicity to their books, but is there a scientific explanation for it all. Five explanations to Bermuda Triangle:1.The Gulf StreamIn explaining why no wreckage of various ships and downed planes has ever been found in the fairly shallow waters, the Gulf Stream is typically blamed. It is, in effect, a saltwater river on the surface of the ocean, with a warmer temperature than the surrounding seawater, causing it to flow northward along the east coast of the U. S. The current itself is in most place along the coast about 60 miles wide, and 2500 to 4000 feet deep, flowing on the surface at about 8 feet per second, with more than sufficient strength to drive enough hydroelectric plants to power all of North America. When ships sink or planes impact the water, they float momentarily, up to several hours depending on the severity of the vessel's damage. During that time, the wreckage is carried northward by the Stream until sinks below the Stream, and finally to the bottom of the sea. 2. Rogue WavesThe waves are possibly the most terrifying occurrences on the ocean. There can be no prior warning of them, no mathematical computation involving where and when they might occur. They are simply several dozen waves of average height for the conditions that suddenly merge into one and climb and climb. Their maximum limits are not known. An 85 footer is quite small. A 157 footer struck Fastnet Lighthouse, Ireland, in 1985. Such gigantic, nearly vertical walls of water are easily capable of flipping super tankers and sinking them in seconds. Rogue waves are not caused by any one factor, but high winds and strong currents routinely cause waves to merge. They are somewhat more prevalent in the Triangle than in calm areas of the world's oceans, because of hurricanes and the Gulf Stream itself. 3. Methane Hydrates A methane hydrate deposit is methane gas trapped in a natural lattice structure of crystallised water, similar to ice. Such deposits lie under the seafloor at almost any depth, some only inches beneath the water. Depending on their size, they can possess colossal potential energy, and when released all at once, the eruption can be sufficient to cause oil well blowouts. It was a methane hydrate that caused the Deepwater Horizon Disaster in 2010. The oil drill finally struck the hydrate deposit submerged in the ocean of oil beneath the seabed, and the methane destroyed the entire rig, sinking it a mile to the bottom.4. HurricanesThe Bermuda Triangle stares down both barrels of Hurricane Alley each year. It's rather easy to avoid one at sea, since any able seafarer will pay close attention to weather reports of it and have a week or more of prior warning to get out of the area. By-product of a hurricane is a microburst, a sudden downdraft caused by the storm's rotation sucking air down from high altitude. When this air reaches the surface of the ground or water, it spreads outward at speeds over 170 mph, regardless of the Hurricane's category strength, more than sufficient to snap full-grown oak trees, or flip over any ship in the world. Airplanes are at risk of being forced into a stall and nosedive.5. An Electromagnetic AberrationCompasses also behave erratically in the Bermuda Triangle. If you pass through any of its three borders, the aberrations will not cease instantaneously, but these reported electromagnetic aberrations can be plotted on a map with a center squarely in the Triangle. One or two mariners over the centuries could be referred to entry #10, but several thousand maritime travellers, in vehicles from small boats to large ships and airplanes, have complained of being unable to rely on their compasses during sections of their journeys through the Triangle.It is open ocean, and no submerged anomalies have ever been reported. The sea floor has been completely mapped with sonar. Shipwrecks and plane wrecks are not magnetic, and have no bearing on compasses. Whatever causes the electromagnetic disturbances affects compasses very rarely, but there are many reports of needles intermittently spinning or spiking. It's easy enough to navigate via the sun or stars, provided they're visible, but the aberrant behaviour of compasses remains a mystery, and a likely cause of at least some of the disasters.