3 Incredible Conspiracy Theories About The Deep Sea | Unveiled

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Incredible Conspiracies About the Deep Sea</h4>

Welcome to our planet’s greatest source of mystery. Simply put, there’s nowhere on Earth we know less about than the deep sea. While humankind has scaled mountains, tamed jungles, roamed deserts, and traveled the skies… we’re still very unfamiliar with the ocean. Over the years there have been some attempts to better our understanding, and in recent times especially the importance of the ocean has finally been realized. But still, there are some huge and glaring gaps that remain in our knowledge. And it’s in these darkest of areas that some rather unconventional ideas have come to the fore.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at some incredible conspiracy theories about the deep sea.

Even to modern minds, the ocean represents an uncharted abyss. By some measures we know far more about space and the universe away from Earth than we do about the waters of home. We’ve extensively mapped the surface of Mars; but we’re only just beginning to similarly map the ocean floor. We’ve landed rovers on far off moons and asteroids; but we’re only now starting to steer comparable machines through the sea. Yes, the likes of Jacques Cousteau - the pioneering oceanographer of the twentieth century - have managed to chisel their name into the annals of history. But Cousteau is an outlier, an exception, and while our astronauts have been (understandably) lauded in the past, our aquanauts have generally gone unnoticed.

It’s perhaps not immediately clear exactly why that would be. But what is clear is that the hazy history of ocean exploration, the rareness of reliable accounts about what life is like below the waves, has led to the growth of a whole subsection of conspiracy theory. Here, we’re diving right into the best of them, from the mildly mysterious to the downright bizarre.

First up, and to probably the most infamous alternate theory about what might be happening at the bottom of the sea, there are multiple claims of hidden civilizations lost to the deep. In general, it’s said that hiding beneath the waves there’s proof of ancient, until-now-unconfirmed societies. Some theorists propose that advanced groups once thrived in the deep sea itself, leaving behind submerged cities and structures - the evidence of which is now deliberately concealed by governments and powerful organizations. Elsewhere, others claim that early civilizations that were once on land became submerged by the sea following some kind of huge natural disaster. Of course, the most well known example of this is Atlantis, a legend dating back to at least the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato, in which it’s said that the overproud Atlanteans were punished by the gods for their arrogance. That punishment being that their city was lost forever to a one-off, monster wave.

In general, supporters of the lost civilizations theory point to seeming anomalies discovered on the ocean floor, such as geometric rock formations and peculiar-looking structures. In the case of Atlantis, it’s widely held that if it did exist (which is a pretty big “if”) then it’s most likely tied to the Mediterranean island of Santorini, and the fall of the Minoan Empire. Although the Minoans actually disappeared thousands of years after the earliest claims of Atlantis date back to. Elsewhere, however, and sites such as the Yonaguni Monument - lying between southern Japan and eastern Taiwan - have piqued interest. There are many such places even across the small percentage of the ocean that we have explored, filled with sharp, seemingly artificial rock features that some have interpreted as the remainder of once thriving cities. However, scientists counter most claims by explaining that these are more likely natural formations and the result of long-standing geological processes, no matter how human-made they appear to be.

Next, and if there aren’t (or weren’t) people down there, then surely there are monsters. The deep sea has long been a setting for all manner of ghost stories and tales of inexplicably terrible creatures. Here, most theories are rooted in ancient maritime legends, wherein intrepid sailors apparently come face-to-face with colossal, undiscovered beasts. The highest profile of these unknown animals is the Kraken, an octopus-like creature reported multiple times over the last few hundred years, in Scandinavia and along the coast of Norway in particular. Elsewhere, and other mythologies give us the Leviathan, a huge, sprawling and deadly sea serpent, often explained as a visualization of the Christian sin of envy. In Old Norse there’s Jörmungandr, another serpent, this time larger than even the Earth itself is. In Greek myth, there’s the Charybdis, a grotesque, dinosaur-ish something that was said to conjure deadly whirlpools.

Advocates for the real-life existence of sea monsters often point to mysterious deep-sea sounds picked up by hydrophones as well as unexplained disappearances of ships and submarines. Could these kinds of mystery serve as proof of the beasts below? Perhaps, but while these phenomena can be puzzling, most marine biologists and oceanographers argue that many of the purported hints toward there being genuine monsters out there… can more simply be explained as misinterpretations of known marine animals. Including of the fabled giant squid. Or else, the stories can be put down to the vivid (and often over-exhausted) imaginations of sailors in the past.

Finally, however, and it’s not too great a jump from monsters to aliens and underwater UFO bases. It’s around a quarter way through the twenty-first century, and UFOs are big news nowadays. Although, the US Navy has before indicated that what they’re more concerned by are actually USOs - unidentified submerged objects. Now, in many cases, USOs are most likely to be things like whales, other large animals, or even unusual tidal surges, that can then cause problems for ships trying to navigate. But, in some cases USOs are seemingly wholly unexplained. And some conspiracies abound that that’s because they are otherworldly.

In general, proponents argue that the deep sea provides the perfect hiding place for alien visitors, far away from prying eyes. And, given again how little we’ve explored down there, it’s not as though it would be difficult to go unnoticed. Once more, most claims are grounded in seeming peculiarities, such as unexplained sonar anomalies. In some cases, however, there are reported first hand accounts of underwater alien encounters. The most famous actually took place not in the sea, but in the world’s deepest lake - Lake Baikal - in 1982, when it’s said that seven Soviet divers encountered six underwater aliens. In the skirmish that followed, it’s even claimed that three of the divers lost their lives. 

Elsewhere, and another seeming hotspot for USO activity is the Solomon Islands, in the South Western Pacific, and especially on the island of Guadalcanal. In history, Guadalcanal was the site of a major battle in World War Two, and is therefore surrounded by known and suspected shipwrecks and remnants of the conflict. However, in more recent times, it has also come to be known for UFO sightings. With most of the claimed, orb-like somethings that are spotted reportedly rising out of the ocean amidst bright lights and a sudden spike in temperature for anyone who gets too close.

What’s weird, though, is it’s not as though the Guadalcanal orbs are out on their own. We’ve seen more and more reports of UFOs in and around the ocean in recent times. In 2014, news broke of a reported alien base discovered off the coast of Malibu, California - complete with a massive, overhanging roof and several supporting columns. In May 2021, headlines were made when the prominent ufologist Jeremy Corbell published reportedly leaked US Navy footage of another unknown orb, this time dropping into the sea after a period hovering above the waves. In July 2020, the Guardian newspaper ran a story about a small group of ufo spotters in Mexico, who whole-heartedly believed that their local towns were being protected from storm surges off of the ocean by an interdimensional, extraterrestrial presence on an isolated island a short distance from the coast. These types of stories crop up time and time again, all over the world map. And, while many are quick to downplay their significance, the USO story has simply grown and grown and grown in modern times.

But, what do you think? About USOs, but also about supposedly ancient civilizations lost to the sea, and apparently monstrous creatures that could be hiding in the depths at this very moment. As is often the case, it’s important to approach such speculative claims and theories with a healthy dose of skepticism. In all cases, these ideas still lack empirical, undeniable proof. But nevertheless, those are some of the most bizarre, incredible and compelling conspiracy theories about the deep sea.