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The mysterious ‘Bloop’ noise detected off Florida in 1997 baffled scientists for years, with many convinced it was some unknown creature lurking in the depths – but the real explanation was far more surprising
In a startling development that left scientists baffled, a peculiar sound, now dubbed the “bloop”, echoed off the coast of Florida.
At first, experts believed this could signal something entirely unknown to science – perhaps a colossal Megalodon or an undiscovered deep-sea creature. Yet, the reality proved far more unsettling.
Several scientists theorised the Bloop originated from a living creature, according to Discovery UK. This was down to its resemblance to an amplified whale call.
However, the snag was it registered far louder than any sound produced by known marine life, fuelling speculation about a mysterious new species. This sparked wild internet theories about hidden sea monsters or even H.P. Lovecraft’s mythical beast Cthulhu, reports the Mirror US.
Geographers offered more grounded explanations, pointing to underwater volcanic eruptions and shifting tectonic plates. The duration and intensity of the sound matched previous incidents where plate movements had generated eerie noises.
Years on, the National Ocean Service (NOAA) positioned hydrophones to monitor seafloor volcanoes and seismic activity. They discovered it stemmed from an icequake – an iceberg calving from an Antarctic glacier.
It stated: “As the years passed, PMEL researchers continued to deploy hydrophones ever closer to Antarctica in an ongoing effort to study the sounds of sea floor volcanoes and earthquakes.
“It was there, on Earth’s lonely southernmost land mass, that they finally discovered the source of those thunderous rumbles from the deep in 2005.
“The Bloop was the sound of an icequake-an iceberg cracking and breaking away from an Antarctic glacier! With global warming, more and more icequakes occur annually, breaking off glaciers, cracking and eventually melting into the ocean.”
One Reddit user voiced their disappointment at what they deemed a dull explanation: “No kidding. I was looking forward to scientists discovering a new, previously unknown life form in the deep ocean.
“I know there’s a ton of species down there we haven’t discovered, but they’re probably all going to be tiny or not much bigger than a small dog. I want science to discover something HUGE.”
Another remained sceptical about the NOAA’s findings. They queried: “Wasn’t there a bunch of experts saying that it was almost certainly organic in nature? Is there any explanation as to why this instance of iceberg cracking was so loud?”.
“Why did it take NOAA so long to attribute it to icebergs cracking? Not saying it’s Cthulu or anything (just desperately hoping), just wondering what took so long.”
