Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Aug 7, (THAIDIAN NEWS) There lies a deep channel equivalent to a terrestrial river under the Black Sea whose water current is 350 times greater than the River Thames. The discovery was recently made by researchers working in the Black Sea who have estimated that if found on land, the discovered undersea channel would have been the sixth largest river considering the amount of water that is flowing through it. The scientist of the University of Leeds put to use robotic submarine to study the deep channel.

The scientists have found that the undersea river is creating river banks and flood plains much like its equivalent on land. The current of the discovered river is so strong that it has been able to carve out channels. Like the rivers on the earth’s surface, the underwater river has waterfalls and rapids and is as deep as 115 ft at some places. The discovered river contains highly dense salty water which is denser than the surrounding sea water. Dr. Dan Parsons, of the University’s school of earth and environment said that the water in the found channels is denser than the surrounding sea water due to its higher salinity and sediment content. Dr. Dan Parsons maintained that like the rivers on land the channel flows “down the sea shelf and out into the abyssal plain”.

The discovery according to the scientists will help to decipher the mystery behind the lives of marine creatures. It would help to explain how life manages to exist in the deep ocean far out of the nutrient rich waters that are found close to land. Scientists are speculating that perhaps channels like these carry nutrients for the deep ocean creatures.