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CARBON AS OLD AS 8,000 YEARS FOUND IN DEEPEST BLUE HOLE

  • 17 Mar 2020

  • Carbon more than 8,000 years old has been found inside the world's deepest blue hole — the Yongle Blue Hole (YBH) — which was recently discovered in the South China Sea.
  • This finding will help in studying carbon cycling and potential mechanisms controlling it.
  • Blue holes are marine caverns filled with water and are formed following dissolution of carbonate rocks, usually under the influence of global sea level rise or fall. What distinguishes them from other aquatic caverns is that they are isolated from the ocean and don’t receive fresh rainwater. They are generally circular, steep-walled and open to surface.
  • YBH has a depth of 300 metres, far deeper than the previously recorded deepest blue hole, Dean’s Blue Hole in Bahamas, which had a depth of 202 metres.