Bermuda Triangle - Myth or Reality?

Bermuda Triangle, region of the western Atlantic Ocean  that has become associated in the popular imagination  with mysterious maritime disasters. Also known as the  Devil's Triangle, the triangle-shaped area covers about 1,140,000 sq km (about 440,000 sq mi) between the  island of Bermuda, the coast of southern Florida, and  Puerto Rico.. The sinister reputation of the Bermuda Triangle may be  traceable to reports made in the late 15th century by  navigator Christopher Columbus concerning the  Sargasso Sea, in which floating masses of gulfweed  were regarded as uncanny and perilous by early sailors;  others date the notoriety of the area to the mid-19th  century, when a number of reports were made of  unexplained disappearances and mysteriously  abandoned ships.  The earliest recorded disappearance of a United States  vessel in the area occurred in March 1918, when the  USS Cyclops vanished. The incident that consolidated the reputation of the  Bermuda Triangle was the disappearance in December  1945 of Flight 19, a training squadron of five U.S.  Navy torpedo bombers. The squadron left Fort Lauderdale,  Florida, with 14 crewmen and disappeared after radioing a  series of distress messages; a seaplane sent in search of  the squadron also disappeared. Aircraft that  have disappeared  in the area since this incident include a DC-3 carrying  27 passengers in 1948 and a C-124 Globemaster with  53 passengers in 1951. Among the ships that have  disappeared was the tankership Marine Sulphur Queen,  which vanished with 39 men aboard in 1963. Books, articles, and television broadcasts investigating  the Bermuda Triangle emphasize that, in the case  of most of the disappearances, the weather was  favorable, the disappearances occurred in daylight after  a sudden break in radio contact, and the vessels vanished  without a trace. However, skeptics point out that many  supposed mysteries result from careless or biased  consideration of data. For example, some losses attributed  to the Bermuda Triangle actually occurred outside the  area of the triangle in inclement weather conditions or in  darkness, and some can be traced to known mechanical  problems or inadequate equipment. In the case of Flight 19,  for example, the squadron commander was  relatively nexperienced, a compass was faulty, the  squadronfailed to follow instructions, and the aircraft  were operating under conditions of deteriorating weather  and visibility and with a low fuel supply. ther  proposed explanations for disappearances in the  Bermuda Triangle include the action of physical  forces unknown to science, a "hole in the sky," an  unusual chemical component in the region's seawater,  and abduction by extraterrestrial beings. Scientific  evaluations of the Bermuda Triangle  have concluded  that the number of disappearances in the region  is not abnormal and that most of the disappearances  have logical xplanations.  Paranormal associations with the Bermuda Triangle  persist in the public mind, however. You won't find it on any official map and you won't  know when you cross the line, but according to some  people, the Bermuda Triangle is a very real place  where dozen of ships, planes and people have  disappeared with no good explanation.  Since a magazine first coined the phrase  "Bermuda Triangle" in 1964, the mystery has  continued to attract attention.  When you dig deeper into most cases,  though, they're much less mysterious.  Either they were never in the area to begin with,  they were actually found,  or there's a reasonable explanation for their  disappearance. Does this mean there's nothing to the claims of so many  who have had odd experiences in the Bermuda Triangle?  Not necessarily. Scientists have documented deviations  from the norm in the area and have found some interesting  formations on the seafloor within the Bermuda Triangle's  boundaries. So, for those who like to believe in it, there is  plenty fuel for the fire. In this article, we'll look at the facts surrounding what we  do know about the area as well as some of the most  commonly-recited stories. We'll also explore the bizarre  theories like aliens and space  portals as well  as the mundane explanations. Many think of the Bermuda Triangle, also known  as the Devil's Triangle, as an "imaginary" area.  The U. S. Board of Geographic Names does not  recognize the Bermuda Triangle  and does not maintain an official file on it. However,  within this imaginary area, many real vessels and the  people aboard them have seemingly disappeared  without explanation. The Bermuda Triangle is located off the Southeastern  coast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean,  with its apexes inthe vicinities of Bermuda, Miami,  Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It covers roughly  500,000 square miles. The area may have been named after its Bermuda  apex since  Bermuda was once known as the "Isle of Devils."  Treacherous reefs that have ensnared ships  sailing too close to its shores surround Bermuda,  and there are hundreds of shipwrecks in  the waters that surround it. The Devils' Sea Miyake Island, Japan The Devil's Sea, also called the Formosa Triangle, is  located off the coast of Japan in a region of the Pacific  around Miyake Island, about 110 miles south of Tokyo.  Like the Bermuda Triangle, the Devil's Sea doesn't  appear on any official maps, but the name is used by  Japanese fishermen. The area is known for strange  disappearances of ships and planes - at least by those  in the United States. Another myth is that, like the Bermuda Triangle,  the Devil's Sea is the only other area where a  compass points to true north rather than magnetic  north (more about this later). One popular theory is that volcanic activity around the  area,paricularly an underwater volcano, could be  responsible for the disappearances. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Over the past 100 years, the Bermuda Triangle has  seen what some say is a significant and inordinately  high number of unexplained disappearances of  planes, ships and people. Some reports say that as many  as 100 ships and planes have been reported missing  in the area and more than 1,000 lives have been lost.  The U.S. Coast Guard, however, maintains that the  area does not have an unusual number of incidents. In 1975, Mary Margaret Fuller, editor of "Fate"  magazine, contacted Lloyd's of London for statistics on  insurance payoffs for incidents occurring within the  Bermuda Triangle's usually accepted boundaries.  According to Lloyd's records, 428 vessels were reported  missing throughout the world between 1955 and 1975,  and th ere was no greater incidence of events  occurring in the Bermuda Triangle than anywhere  else in the world. Gian J. Quasar, author of "Into the Bermuda Triangle:  Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery"  and curator of Bermuda-triangle.org, argues that this  report "is completely false." Quasar reasons that because  Lloyd's does not insure small  crafts like yachts and  often doesn't insure small charter boats or private aircraft,  its records can't be the definitive source. He also  states that the Coast Guard's records, which it publishes  annually, do not include "missing vessels." He  requested data on "overdue vessels" and received  (after 12 years of  asking)records of 300 missing/overdue vessels for the  previous two years. Whether those vessels ultimately  returned is unknown. His Web site has a list of these  vessels. The  National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB)  database indicates (according to Gian J. Quasar) that  only a handful of aircraft have disappeared off the New  England coast over the past 10 years, while over 30  have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle. The mystery of the Triangle probably took hold  with thefirst well-publicized disappearance in 1945,  when five Navy Avengers disappeared in the area.  The cause of the disappearance was originally  "pilot error," but family members of the pilot leading  the mission couldn't accept that he had made such  a mistake.Eventually they convinced the Navy  to change it to"causes or reasons unknown." Is Insurance Higher in the Bermuda Triangle? According to Norman Hooke, who conducted  marine casualty studies for Lloyd's Maritime  Information Services, based in London,  "The Bermuda Triangle does not exist."  He instead says that disappearances in the  Triangle are typically weather-related. So despite the  theories of why ships and planes disappear in the  area, insurance premiums are no higher than for  any other area of the ocean. The myth gained momentum after reporter  E.V.W. Jones compiled a list of "mysterious  disappearances" of ships and planes between  the Florida coast and Bermuda.  Two years later, George X. Sand wrote  an article for "Fate" magazine, titled "Sea  Mystery at our Back Door." The article was about  a "series of strange marine disappearances, each  leaving no trace whatever, that have taken place  in thepast few years" in a "watery triangle bounded  roughly by Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico." As more incidents occurred, the reputation grew  and past events were reanalyzed and added to the  legend. In 1964, "Argosy Magazine" gave the triangle  its name in an article titled "The Deadly Bermuda  Triangle" by Vincent Gaddis. Argosy magazine's  tagline a "magazine of master fiction," but that did  nothing to halt the spread of the myth. More articles,  books, and movies have appeared, suggesting theories  ranging from alien abductions to a giant octopus. Plausible Theories about it Most rational explanations for the incidents in  the Bermuda Triangle, including the explanations  given by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard,  include human error and environmental effects.  The area is one of the most highly trafficked for  amateur pilots and sailors, so more traffic leads  to more accidents and disappearances. Weather Patterns and Topography The area is subject to violent and unexpected  storms and weather changes. These short but  intense storms can build up quickly, dissipate  quickly, and go undetected by satellite surveillance.  Waterspouts that could easily destroy a passing  plane or ship are also not uncommon. A waterspout  is simply a tornado at sea that pulls water from the  ocean surface thousands of feet into the sky.  Other possible environmental effects include  underwater earthquakes, as scientists have found  a great deal of seismic activity in the area. Scientists  have also spotted freak waves up to 100 feet high. Sea surface roughness in the Gulf Stream,  captured by NASA's Terra satellite on April 18, 2004. The underwater topography of the area may  also be a factor. It goes from a gently sloping  continental shelf to an extremely deep drop-off.  In fact, some of the deepest trenches in the world are  found in the area of the Bermuda Triangle.  Ships or planes that sink into these deep trenches  will probably never be found. The Gulf Stream, where the Triangle is located,  is extremely swift and turbulent. It can pose extreme  navigational challenges, especially for inexperienced  sailors. The Gulf Stream has been reported to  move faster than 5 mph in some areas -  more than fast enough to throw sailors hundreds  of miles off course if they don't compensate correctly  for the current. It can also quickly erase any evidence  of a disaster. Methane Gas Hydrates This theory appears to hold promise for at least some  of the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle.  Scientists at Cardiff University have discovered  the presence of large concentrations of methane gas  trapped in the ocean floor. This gas is due to dying  and decomposing sea organisms. The sediment  contains bacteria that produce methane, which  accumulates as super concentrated methane ice,  called gas hydrates. The layer of ice traps the  methane gas, and scientists are studying it as a  potential energy source. Crystalline methane hydrate deposits Within seconds of a methane gas pocket rupturing,  the gas surges up and erupts on the surface without  warning. If a ship is in the area of the blowout, the  water beneath it would suddenly become much less  dense. The vessel could sink and sediment could quickly  cover it as it settles onto the sea floor. Even planes  flying overhead could catch fire during such a blowout.  Although he doesn't agree with the methane hydrate theory  as an explanation for the Bermuda Triangle, Bill Dillon,  a research geologist with the United States Geological  Survey said that, "On several occasions, oil drilling rigs  have sunk as the result of [methane] gas escape." Pirates While historical pirates like Blackbeard or the fictional  Captain Jack Sparrow of "Pirates of the Caribbean"  may not be likely candidates for disappearances, modern  pirates might be. In the 1970s and '80s, drug runners often  pirated boats to smuggle drugs. This theory could also  bear some truth during wartime. Check out How Pirates  Work for more information about piracy and real-life pirates. The U.S.S. Winston S. Churchill follows a suspected  pirate vessel in 2006. Although these theories (among others) probably  account for disappearances in the area known as the  Bermuda Triangle, many people still prefer to believe  that aliens, electronic fog or another supernatural  phenomenon must be the cause. As long as those t heories exist, the Bermuda Triangle will remain a  source of fascination and mystery.