Something Made 1,300 Perfect Circles on the Seafloor

Bright Side

Something strange carved 1,300 near-perfect circles into the ocean floor, and scientists didn’t notice them at first. These patterns sit deep underwater and stretch for miles, looking way too precise to feel natural. In this video, we break down what researchers think created them and why the explanation surprised everyone. It’s part geology, part mystery, and way creepier than it sounds. Don’t miss this video if you like ocean secrets that mess with your brain.  Credit: Greenland's Ice Layers: By NASA Goddard / YouTube, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_-_Greenland%27s_Ice_Layers_Mapped_in_3D_u0VbPE0TOtQ.webm CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: Whitespotted puffer: By Albert kok, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7748304 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Lithothamnion sp.: By Philippe Bourjon, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36269551 Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:01Hold your breath, we're going to the seabed.

00:04What do we have here?

00:05A lot of fish, octopuses, coral reefs,

00:08perfect circles of unknown origin,

00:11shrimps, stingrays, sharks.

00:13Wait, what?

00:14Hold on, what are those perfect circles on the seabed?

00:18Wow, perfectly symmetrical,

00:2067 feet in diameter with a clear outline.

00:241, 2, 3, 10, 20.

00:27There are so many of them.

00:291,300 strange rings at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

00:33What are they doing there?

00:35How did they appear?

00:38Try to guess.

00:39Traces of an extraterrestrial civilization?

00:42The remains of an ancient city?

00:44A new kind of sea creature?

00:46There's a 99% chance you won't be able to give the correct answer.

00:50But here's a little hint.

00:52There's a connection between these circles and the Ice Age.

00:56It seems that the mystery has become even more complicated.

01:01But let's find the answer together.

01:02So it all started in 2011.

01:06Marine biologists discovered mysterious circles at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

01:11And the first question that arose was why no one had noticed them before,

01:15given the vast territory these circles occupied.

01:18The fact is that a big part of the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea is too shallow and close to the shore.

01:26And for this reason, no one is engaged in mining there.

01:29At the same time, the bottom is too deep for scuba divers.

01:33Thus, the circles were in some kind of blind spot.

01:36Let's move on.

01:38The circles are approximately the same size with a clear outline and perfect symmetry.

01:44But the strangest thing is that there's a dark spot in the center of each of them.

01:48Visually, it looks like a fried egg with a yolk in the middle.

01:52In 2013, biologists discussed the discovery at a scientific conference

01:56and made assumptions about the nature of these circles.

02:00Perhaps they were connected to underwater volcanoes that left such strange marks after the eruption.

02:05Perhaps it was a strange geological formation.

02:09But why are they so perfectly round?

02:11It doesn't look like they appeared by accident.

02:15Okay, let's move on.

02:16Is it possible that it's coralline algae growing in weird shapes?

02:20You can guess as much as you'd like.

02:23But scientists needed to go down to the bottom and study the rings up close.

02:27So they did.

02:29In the center of the ring was a large protrusion formed by red calcareous algae.

02:33This ledge was several feet high and wide.

02:37And there were swaying fan-shaped growths at its top.

02:41The strange ledge was surrounded by some kind of pale scree that looked like debris.

02:46The black ring itself consisted of rotoliths.

02:49Accumulations of hard, rocky algae.

02:53Scientists realized that those weren't just circles.

02:56They seemed to be alive.

02:58Okay, more questions appeared.

02:59Let's say it's some kind of strange algae.

03:03But why form these circles?

03:05What made them this way?

03:07Scientists took samples of the material from the center of the circles and found out that they were about 21,000 years old.

03:15At that time, large-scale events were taking place.

03:18They changed the appearance of Earth and the fate of all creatures living on it.

03:2221,000 years ago was the peak of the last ice age.

03:26The Mediterranean Sea was much smaller and colder than it is now.

03:30And the seabed on which the mysterious rings appeared was closer to the surface.

03:35Now it's dark here.

03:37But at that time, this place was illuminated by sunlight passing through the water.

03:42Scientists also discovered several caves with layers of sedimentary rocks near the circles.

03:48In the past, these caves were located above the coastline and were washed by waves, resulting in erosion and the appearance of these empty gaps.

03:58Now they're completely underwater.

04:00Okay, what does this give us?

04:02The cold sea was not too deep during the ice age.

04:05What's next?

04:06Next, the scientists found out the nature of these strange ledges in the middle of the rings.

04:13At first glance, they looked very similar to corals.

04:16But in fact, they were sediments formed by coralline algae.

04:20These photosynthetic organisms created a skeleton of calcium carbonate.

04:24And the reason they did it there is that it was a warm place with access to sunlight.

04:29In the beginning, these algae were thriving.

04:33They expanded outward and formed something similar to domes or large pancakes.

04:38Then the ice age began to end.

04:40The weather became warmer.

04:42The water gradually heated up and giant continental glaciers began to melt.

04:47A huge amount of melted ice flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.

04:52Its level rose.

04:53The bottom became deeper.

04:55And there was less and less light.

04:56The beautiful algae slowly plunged into darkness.

05:01Their domes collapsed and left behind those little ledges in the center

05:04and pieces of calcium carbonate scattered around.

05:08For thousands of years, there was nothing around those algae remains.

05:12But where did the big circles come from?

05:15After the melting of glaciers, the Mediterranean Sea level stabilized about 8,000 years ago.

05:20The algae grew new layers in the form of small ledges,

05:24those swaying fan-shaped growths.

05:26This organism began to develop the pieces of calcium carbonate.

05:31And then, small pieces began to roll down the ledges.

05:34They rolled in different directions, forming those perfect circles.

05:39At the moment, this version is the most realistic.

05:43Scientists say they have no direct evidence that the mysterious circles appeared this way.

05:48But they also have no reason to believe that this version is incorrect.

05:52If any of you were hoping that someone or something had deliberately drawn these circles,

05:58don't get upset.

06:00There are other mysterious circles on the seabed.

06:02And this time, they were created for an important purpose by one amazing creature.

06:07In 1995, divers noticed beautiful circles with a geometric pattern right on the sandy bottom of the shores of Japan.

06:17It looked like someone had drawn them on the sand.

06:21The circles weren't ancient, because otherwise, the water would have swept the patterns away.

06:27Indeed, soon, those drawings were erased.

06:30But then, new ones appeared.

06:33Nobody knew what was going on.

06:35Was someone drawing stuff to tease divers?

06:38But it turned out to be much cooler.

06:41The patterns were supposed to attract females.

06:45And this someone who drew them was a small, white-spotted pufferfish.

06:50The males of these fish flap their fins on the seabed, swim in different directions, and thus, draw amazing patterned circles.

06:59They have no art education, and they probably can't think abstractly.

07:03But they really want to start a family.

07:06These fish are about 5 inches long, but their artworks are about 7 feet in diameter.

07:13These little artists try their best, but what happens afterward?

07:16The female swims in, looks at the pattern, and gives her score.

07:21If she likes the pattern, she's ready to start a family.

07:24If she doesn't like the drawing, she dashes away and leaves the poor pufferfish with a broken heart.

07:31Nothing much is known about the drawings.

07:34Scientists can't get into the fish's brain and find the answers.

07:37All we can do is observe.

07:39And during long observations, scientists noticed some curious things.

07:44Around the center, there are perfectly aligned gaps and patterns.

07:48The fish not only draws outlines on the seabed, but also decorates them with fragments of shells.

07:55That is, the male tries very hard, like an artist working on their painting.

08:00The fish creates this masterpiece within 7 to 9 days.

08:04After that, undercurrents wash it away.

08:06And the fish has to rebuild it if the female doesn't like this work.

08:10But if the female chooses the male, they become a couple.

08:14The female lays eggs in the center of these circles.

08:17Then she swims away.

08:18And the male stays with the eggs for 6 days to protect and care for their offspring.

08:24The behavior of these fish is similar to that of bowerbirds.

08:28Birds that build small huts out of twigs and leave and decorate them with colorful berries and flowers.

08:33And all this in order to attract a mate to create offspring.

08:38That's it for today.

08:40So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

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