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Deadly Pools Discovered In The Ocean Kill Everything That Approach Them
Lethal brine pools
Scientists continue to unravel the secrets of a deadly oddity found at the bottom of Earth’s oceans. There are places beneath the waves that will kill anything that approaches. For some organisms the death is instantaneous. For others, shock, confusion and paralysis lead to an agonizing end. This fate extends to everything from fish to seals to whales to people. So what are these places? Why are there areas of instant death lurking in our oceans?
The answer, like most things in science, is steeped in physics and simple biology.
Salty, Salty Brine
In case you did not know, saltwater is denser than freshwater. The difference in density is directly connected to the salinity of the water. That means that the saltier the water becomes, the denser it gets. That is why people float extremely well in the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is extremely salty which in turn raises the density of the water to higher-than-usual levels. The higher density allows people to float better compared to freshwater.
That is an important concept to realize because it is directly linked to the deadly pools in our oceans. The death pools in the oceans are made up of brine which is an extremely dense and…
