Where is the "Dinghai Shenzhen" in " Journey to the West "? Does Sun Dasheng's Ruyi Golden Cudgel stand among the East China Sea ? Although these questions are full of fantasy, the fishermen of Xisha Islands have passed down an unswerving knowledge from generation to generation: the "Dinghai Shenzhen" stands in the waters near the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
Fishermen once told a reporter from the "Washington Post" that when Sun Wukong took away the "Sacred Needle" from here, he left an unfathomable cave. The ancestors were in great awe of this place and called it "Dragon Cave". Of course, this "cognition" is just a legend, and it only provides another important evidence for the work "Journey to the West". However, the location of the "Sacred Needle" in the hearts of fishermen has revealed to the world the world's deepest ocean blue hole.
Starting in May 2012, Mr. Wu Lixin, a special photographer for China National Geographic, and his assistant have come to the Paracel Islands many times to explore the mystery of the "Dinghai Shenzhen". This place is located at 16°31′30″ north latitude and 111°46′05″ east longitude. Islands of all sizes are scattered in the surrounding waters, with numerous reefs and dense hard corals. The most bizarre thing is that this sea area is a pure deep blue, which is extremely conspicuous in satellite photos.
Wu Lixin immediately concluded that there must be some unknown secret hidden in this sea area. However, due to the complex terrain, it is extremely difficult for scientific research ships to get close. Even veteran fishermen who have been diving and fishing in the South China Sea for decades can only look at the sea and sigh.
In order to find out, Wu Lixin decided to take the risk and dive into this magical sea. Before going into the water, they conducted detailed detection. The diameter of this blue sea was about 100 meters.
As soon as they entered the water, they seemed to have entered a time tunnel. The light changed rapidly. When they dived 20 meters underwater, the space quickly shrunk. The diameter was only 60 to 70 meters. Looking up, the entrance of the hole was circular. After about 30 minutes, the color of the seawater around them gradually changed, and the brown color of the coral reef gradually disappeared, replaced by white and blue colors. Immediately afterwards, they were enveloped in a large area of dark blue, and a coldness suddenly came over them. What excites them is that the biological resources around them are becoming increasingly abundant.
After a brief period of excitement, they felt fear because they seemed to have entered a bottomless abyss whose depth was difficult to measure. However, they did not give up and continued to dive into the darkness. At a depth of 45 meters, the view broadened again and the environment changed again. They discovered a large-area "eave-shaped" structure, like a stalagmite formation, and a very typical erosion phenomenon appeared in the formation.
At the same time, Wu Lixin also discovered side holes one after another. Due to limited conditions, they did not conduct detection, but according to the data detected by underwater robot , the amount of melted oxygen at 105 meters underwater is almost zero.
Soon after, Wu Lixin continued to go deep into the Dragon Cave with his team. After diving, they discovered that the survey cave was not deep enough to constitute a cave system, and was like a dead end. However, based on in-depth comparison of a large number of photos taken by Wu Lixin, he boldly speculated that Longdong may contain multiple such caves.
Three years later, after Wu Lixin was fully prepared, he dived into the Dragon Cave for the third time, reaching a depth of 64 meters. This time, they sent an underwater robot to drill holes in the cave wall at a distance of 30 meters. The water in the cave was calm and there was no sign of exchange with external water flow. The water below 100 meters was in an oxygen-free state, with 150 to 160 There is a significant displacement of 300 meters of water, and about 300 meters is located in the continental slope area with a larger water depth, which is significantly different from the blue holes that have been discovered in the world.
The depth of Long Cave has been detected and confirmed. It is as deep as 300.89 meters, making it the deepest ocean blue hole in the known world. As the exploration work continues to advance, it is difficult for scientists to explain the true cause of the dragon cave, but they have put forward conjectures: Is this dragon cave isolated? Is there ancient primitive life under 100 meters?
Faced with a series of speculations and conjectures, scientists are approaching the truth of the "Dinghai Shenzhen" step by step.
Knowledge Window Author: Jiang Zhiqiang
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