Mystery of giant double whirlpool sucking sea creatures in the ocean

Researchers still do not fully understand the cause and mechanism of the formation of pairs of whirlpools that suck in marine life hundreds of kilometers in diameter in the middle of the ocean.

Double whirlpools suck in marine life and sweep them away. Illustration: Wordpress.

Whirlpools that span hundreds of kilometers in the middle of the ocean, called eddies, are common, but for the first time scientists have observed pairs of them spinning in opposite directions. Previously, this elusive phenomenon had only been theorized and had never been observed in nature, according to the International Business Times.

Pairs of large whirlpools called modons have been captured by satellite. Researchers say they spin 10 times faster than individual whirlpools and can suck in marine life, sweeping it over great distances. Satellite images have revealed modons moving in the Tasman Sea, off southwest Australia, the south Atlantic and west South Africa.

After observing the phenomenon, scientists tried to discover the cause of the formation of ocean whirlpool pairs and why their behavior is so strange. The research results were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on December 28.

“Individual ocean eddies almost always point west, but when paired they can move eastward at 10 times faster than a normal eddy, pushing water in unusual directions across the ocean,” said Chris Hughes, an oceanographer at the University of Liverpool in the UK, who was part of the research team. “We found a pair of eddies that rotate in opposite directions and are related to each other, moving together across the Tasman Sea for six months.”

A deeper analysis revealed that modons are actually not as rare as previously thought. Scientists scanned satellite data dating back to 1993 and found evidence of nine different modons. While eight were located around Australia, one formed southwest of South Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean.

"I happened to notice a feature in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand that was behaving quite strangely compared to everywhere else. Most single eddies drift slowly westward, but this one was moving very quickly eastward. It turned out to be a double eddy," Hughes said.

The researchers are not sure what causes the double whirlpool phenomenon, but they speculate that single whirlpools can form pairs when they collide in the ocean or crash onto the shore. Scientists observed that when rotating whirlpools merge, a U-shaped vortex forms underwater, connecting the two individual whirlpools and keeping them moving together for up to six months.

According to Hughes, the phenomenon of double whirlpools can transport organisms over large distances. "I looked at other ocean areas and only found double whirlpools around Australia and one pair in the South Atlantic. I think these fast-moving pairs of whirlpools can suck up small marine organisms and carry them at high speeds and over large distances across the ocean," Hughes said.

According to VNE