New mission to explore Great Blue Hole mysteriesNovember 30, 2018 - 18:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Virgin billionaire Richard Branson is joining a new mission to solve one of the most captivating mysteries of the ocean -- what lies at the bottom of the Great Blue Hole in Belize? The Great Blue Hole in Belize is the largest sinkhole in the world -- a giant cavern measuring 300 meters (984 feet) across and around 125 meters deep. In 1971, underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau put the Blue Hole on the map when he first explored its depths. Nearly half a century later, despite becoming a scuba hotspot, the Blue Hole's exact features remain mostly unknown. But Cousteau's grandson, Fabien Cousteau, is on the case, CNN says. He'll be joinging Branson -- who runs Ocean Unite, a leadership initiative that aims to help protect the ocean -- and a team of scientists, explorers and filmmakers from the Aquatica Foundation. They're planning to take submersibles including a manned Aquatica Stingray 500 to the bottom of the hole to chart what lies deep down below. The Blue Hole Belize 2018 Expedition, as it's been titled, will be broadcast live on the Discovery Channel on Sunday December 2, 2018. Located roughly 40 miles off the Belize coast, the Blue Hole is thought to have once been a giant cave on dry land, thousands of years ago. As the ocean rose again, the cave flooded. It's now part of the wider Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Blue Hole has never been fully mapped or plotted -- the idea is this new expedition might answer the question of what lies at the bottom of this enigmatic cavern. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |