The mystery behind the Bermuda Triangle's disappearances is being revisited with a new scientific claim. Researchers suggest that the losses of ships and planes in the region may have been caused by "lost forces" that were once active on the ocean floor but are now inactive.
The vast area, about 500,000 square miles between Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico, has inspired legends for centuries. Experts say the decline in incidents is due to environmental conditions that no longer exist.
Methane Gas Explosions and Sinking Risk
According to Ronald Kapper of What If Science, the Bermuda Triangle may have once been an "active zone" with intense methane gas releases from the seabed.
Rising methane bubbles could have reduced water density, suddenly eliminating ships' buoyancy and causing them to sink. The gas could also have disrupted low-flying aircraft engines, leading to malfunctions. Kapper notes that while this phenomenon caused clusters of incidents in the past, the depletion of gas sources has significantly reduced events in recent decades.
"Not Aliens, But Rare Natural Events"
This theory rejects supernatural explanations like aliens, portals, or curses, focusing entirely on physical evidence. Kapper says, "The Bermuda Triangle may have been influenced by a rare combination of environmental forces that no longer exist. If the area has calmed, it explains why incidents spiked and then declined."
Other experts, such as Nigel Watson, author of Portraits of Alien Encounters Revisited, urge caution. He notes that many events have been distorted by the media and that the "triangle" narrative is sometimes overstated.
A 500-Year-Old Mystery
Reports of the Bermuda Triangle date back to Columbus's 1492 voyage, where he described "strange lights." Tragedies like the USS Cyclops disappearance in 1918, with 306 crew members lost without a trace, have kept the mystery alive.
While insurers like Lloyd's of London and the U.S. Coast Guard maintain there's no evidence the area is more dangerous than others, the new "temporarily active zone" theory has sparked scientific curiosity, blending logic with the region's mystical allure.
