Posted on 07/13/2013 6:53:35 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Imagine swimming in an underwater primeval forest that nature has preserved for over 50,000 years. Now you can if you are willing to dive 60 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, 10 miles offshore of Alabama.
Experts believe 2005's Hurricane Katrina unveiled what had been buried under ocean sediment for centuries. And it took some curious fishermen to discover it by questioning why there so many fishing congregating in one area.
The discovery was made in 2012 but only recently became public knowledge. The find was confirmed when a dive team and experts from Louisiana State University took the 60 foot plunge and found a primeval cypress forest nearly one mile wide. The thriving eco system has stood devoid of oxygen for over 12,000 years. Some of the tree stumps found are half-a-mile in diameter. Scientists from Louisiana State tested some of the samples brought up by divers that proved to be 52,000 years old. That means these trees were probably thriving during an period earlier than the Ice Age. Incredibly researchers say the inside of the tree appears to still be hard.
That's the good news and now for the bad.
Experts believe the primeval forest has two years to survive now that it is exposed to the ravages of the sea that include burrowing sea life uprooting the ancient tree stumps. There are some fallen logs that are already covered by sea crustaceans.
What's next for the primeval underwater forest that is owned more by the sea than it is by the U.S. or Mexico is another mystery. Divers can only access this underground treasure 40 minutes at a time to derive any useful information.
Go for a dive and check out this Live Science video for yourself before its too late.
(Excerpt) Read more at hispanicallyspeakingnews.com ...
“Small forest, big trees. The level of journalism we have nowadays makes me shudder.”
Journalism’s descent hit terminal velocity when spell-check replaced editing and proof-reading.
Dude, if 10 Mexicans move to Maine they start saying ‘this is Atzlan, Yankee go home!’. They think they own everything, even though what they do have is a narco-terrorist cesspool.
A completely arbitrary number, pulled directly from some "scientist's" anal port, purportedly to save the dead trees from the ravages of Man.
Save the dead trees!
I guess that is what the air tanks allow.
The author really needed an editor.
“And it took some curious fishermen to discover it by questioning why there so many fishing congregating in one area.”
“Some of the tree stumps found are half-a-mile in diameter.”
I guess the reporter must believe that everything in the Gulf of Mexico belongs to the Mexicans.
Probably related to decompression time and air bottle limitations.
The deeper you dive (and the more times you dive) your time on the bottom gets shorter due to decompression requirements.
And your air bottle has to supply you for the time on the bottom plus the decompression stops on the way up.
We'd need decompression tables that I don't have handy to see what's required for a 40 minute stay at 60 feet, plus what the current "sport diver" bottle holds, and then allow downward for inexperienced divers who do not use their air efficiently.
That article is officially the dumbest thing I’ve read in the last hour. The Latino’s at Histrionically(on purpose, thanks spell check because hispanically wasn’t recognized as a word) Speaking News need some series edumacation...
Much more likely a half meter. The ignorant news copier majored in the what many in my day considered to be a low-end gene pool degree program in journalism. Didn’t have a clue that the 0.5 m that he/she read means METERS and not miles.
Excerpt from article, “ Some of the tree stumps found are half-a-mile in diameter. “
Wow! Now that’s some tree! It must have been thirty or forty miles tall! Just imagine the size of the squirrels that lived in it, lol :)
I checked. The dive table says 55 minutes at 60 feet. I guess that makes sense but if you used a double tank and allowed for decompression you could stay a lot longer.
Reporter: "Math is hard!"
A half-meter isn’t very large, but a square mile of half-meter trees could be pretty impressive.
Can’t see the forest for the trees.
Here is a link to an article that does not use English as a Second language, yet. It actually says the stumps are about 2 meters in diameter and cover an area about 1/2 mile wide.
I don’t know why we need to go to hispanically speaking since this is U.S. forum.
Come again?
Could very well be a half-mile diameter spread of trees but certainly not half-mile diameter trees.
Shelby Stanga will bring those logs up.
“Scientists from Louisiana State tested some of the samples brought up by divers that proved to be 52,000 years old.”
Any dem mud bug skeletons found in the area ?
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