From a distance, the Blue Hole of Belize looks like a beautiful sapphire-blue pool surrounded by the beautiful Caribbean Sea. A close look, however, reveals the darkness and mystery of the deep sinkhole in the middle of the sea. For the famed explorer, Fabien Cousteau, and billionaire entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, the Blue Hole held so much potential and mystery. It was the one place they HAD to explore, and after doing so, they instantly regretted their decision…
Fabien the Explorer
Fabien Cousteau is a world-renowned sea explorer passionate about marine life. He’s spent his career diving and documenting everything from shipwrecks to sharks in the wild. After all the accomplishments he’s achieved, there was one place left to conquer that would change everything…
Caribbean Bound
He set sail for the Blue Hole of Belize in 2018 to explore the fabled deep sinkhole and uncover the mysteries hidden below the surface, but he would soon find something that would leave everyone stunned…
Belize Barrier Reef
The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest reef on the planet. It was touted by Charles Darwin as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies” when he sailed through the passage in 1842. Darwin was telling the truth—the sheer size and array of colors of the BBR are one of the most mesmerizing things on the entire planet…
Into the Deep
The Blue Hole brings divers from all over the world into its depths. But this dive is no beginner dip—divers must complete 24 dives before entering its depths. The Belize sinkhole could easily hold two Boeing 474 planes and still leave plenty of room to spare. Fabien was mesmerized by its mystery. He was going to get to the bottom of it…
In His Blood
Exploring the deep was in his blood. His grandfather, Jacques Cousteau was a famous oceanographer and Fabien followed in his footsteps. His grandfather had visited the Blue Hole back in 1971, but the tools he had at the time were nothing compared to the technology available now. This time around, they were going to get some answers…
Virgin Voyage
Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group business tycoon, was all in for this mission to discover what lied at the bottom of the Blue Hole. Branson joined Fabien’s expedition and jumped aboard his team’s submersible, however, this mission would take an unexpected turn…
Environmentally Conscious
It’s no secret that Branson is an environmentalist who uses his platform to promote awareness and put in the work and resources to get things done. He hosted a global warming summit in the British Virgin Islands allocating $3 billion to fight global warming. His passion for the environment took him to the Blue Hole in Belize…
Unexplored Area
This dive was going to be the deepest dive any scientific team had gone before, however, the factor that drew the most attention was the fact that the area had never been explored…
The Last Big Exploration
The last time the depths of the ocean were explored with such coverage and excitement was when Titanic director, James Cameron, took a dive into the Mariana Trench. The submarine that carried them below had a giant done on the top, allowing passengers to view the ocean depths from all angles. This mission sparked the idea for how they would attempt to uncover Blue Hole…
Down Deep
They entered the depths of Blue Hole and visibility was quite low. Soon, they saw an odd geological structure, hanging stalactites appeared as if the structure was located on dry land. They were over 400 feet below the ocean floor, though…
A Serious Warning
Branson said the sight of the cave spoke to the serious dangers of global warming. The scientists concluded that the sinkhole was a result of a massive ice melt due to climate change at the end of the last Ice Age. The conditions of the layers of rock formations signaled a major future problem…
Examining the Layers
A research team joined Branson and Cousteau at the Blue Hole to collect samples and document the structure’s walls to further study it. They took sediment samples and wondered that if it had any correlation to the decline of civilization on Belize’s land. They would soon discover the answer to one of the earth’s greatest mysteries…
One Large Storm
While most of us studied Mayans in history class, many don’t know that the Mayans were the original inhabitants of Belize. What they didn’t find in the rock sediment was aluminum and titanium, a big indicator that the Mayan civilization declined due to a horrendous storm…
Lethal Zone
On the way down, Fabien and his team ran into a 20 ft. thick lethal layer of hydrogen sulfide. Luckily, they were in safe hands with their modern technology and it was time to put it to the test. They looked around and saw carcasses of crabs, conch, and other marine life rammed into this thick wall of gas…
Base Level
The team finally got through the thick wall, finally reaching the bottom of the Blue Hole. Fabien was able to realize the work that his grandfather had begun so many years ago. While they thought that the hydrogen sulfide sheet was the deadliest thing they would find below, and yet, this was only the beginning…
The War Below
While exploring the depths of the Blue Hole, Cousteau learned the hard way that looks can be deceiving. When they stepped onto the muddy floors of the sinkhole, the surface was covered with strange figures they had trouble identifying. Once they realized what they had found, the researchers were dumbfounded…
The Truth Below
Deep within the depths of the Blue Hole, the team was faced with the dark, glaring reality facing bodies of water across the globe—massive piles of plastic pollutants. Unaware of what they might find below, the team discovered yet another victim of human consumption. Branson had an idea…
The Glaring Problem
What began as a fun adventure into the unknown, uncovered the harsh reality of the monster below the depths. There was only one thing to be afraid of and that was the harmful effects of pollution. Branson jumped into action and paired with Ocean Unite to raise awareness about the reality of the ocean. They had a major goal to attack…
Next Steps
Branson sought out a larger solution to this problem. He and Ocean Unite are striving to establish at least 30% of the world’s oceans as a protected area by the year 2030. They began this goal with Belize, meeting with the prime minister there and getting him to agree to reserve 10% of their water bodies under protection. But they were just getting started…
Hope & Action
If the conditions at the bottom of Blue Hole were any indication, the seriousness of ocean pollution was much larger than anyone had ever thought. Branson’s proposal was well-received by the Belize government, but to show how serious he was about change, Branson took a daring first step to set an example…
Plastic Ban
Deeply influenced by the things he saw in Blue Hole, he began to initiate serious change within his own businesses. He eliminated single-use plastic from his airlines and Belize also agreed to cease use of single-use plastic by 2019. It was a start, but Branson wasn’t stopping there…
OceanElders
After discovering the darkness of Blue Hole Branson began to volunteer with numerous charities working to ensure the sustainability of the environment. Branson is also part of OceanElders, a group of public figures that are devoted to raising awareness about the destruction of the ocean. But what exactly have they done to help?
Leonardo DiCaprio
Non-degradable human waste is one of the primary threats to the planet and its ecosystems. Leonardo DiCaprio started a foundation to strengthen and assist organizations devoted to protecting the environment. One branch of his organization is the Plastic Solutions Fund, which focuses on eliminating non-essential plastic by 2035. While the Belize Blue Hole presented a big issue. however, a sinkhole in Egypt is currently facing an even worse situation…
The Wonders of the Sea
The Red Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. By the Sinai Peninsula, north of Dahab, Egypt, lies another blue hole. Although it’s smaller than the one in Belize. it has a supernatural reputation that has made it quite famous over the years…
Last Swim
The Blue Hole of Sinai is close to shore, however, looks can be deceiving. It lies in the middle of a coral reef, and if a diver is brave enough to enter, that swim could potentially be their last…
The Arch
What makes this Blue Hole so dangerous is a structure, called the arch—a tunnel under the reef that links the Blue Hole to the Red Sea. While there’s no nitrogen sulfide down there, there is an invisible presence known as nitrogen narcosis that disorients divers on their way down…
Dangerous Beauty
The Blue Hole in Egypt appear far less deep, however, this is just an illusion. And with nitrogen narcosis also producing hallucinations, this Blue Hole is filled with danger. But even this deadly Blue Hole is not immune to the dangers from above…
Mariana Trench
The deepest pocket of the ocean, the Mariana Trench, is 36,000 feet deep, yet even this massive trench is filled with plastic bags and trash. Photos and videos captured by over 5,000 divers have been collected as evidence over the past three decades. The issue only continues to worsen…
Deep-Sea Debris Database
Plastic is the most common waste item found in the ocean. Other commonly found items are cloth, wood, metal, and rubber. But 89% of the plastic found in the ocean is single-use plastic, like water bottles and utensils. But there’s one other problem below that makes this issue seem minor…
Entangled
NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer discovered that the marine life of the Mariana Trench was being suffocated and entangled in the plastic that had found its way into their habitat. The most worrying part of this issue is that the trench is located miles away from any modern civilization. Because of this, a study was conducted that made a shocking discovery…
Much Worse
A study done on the trench revealed that the pollution level here was higher than even the most polluted of rivers in China. This discovery revealed that ocean pollution was not only prevalent, but it also traveled very fast. How could they slow it down…
Ocean Dumping
A 2017 study proved that discarded fishing gear made up the bulk of the pollution in the Pacific. The conditions are so extreme, that the garbage patch floating between Hawaii and California is larger than the state of Texas. Further studies are now underway, and one recent one revealed the heart of the problem…
Ingested Fibers
Not only is marine life suffering from being strangled and trapped by human waste, but its also consuming the garbage. Recently, a whale carcass washed ashore with 88 pounds of plastic in its stomach. One study looked at crustaceans that live 10,980 feet below sea level and every specimen was found to have ingested different man-made fiber and materials. So, the question is: now what…
Vicious Cycle
When marine life ingests pollutants, so do humans when we consume fish and other seafood. Deep-sea creatures, in particular, eat pretty much anything that comes their way, and this is now a layered cyclical problem…
Falling in the Trap
Finding plastics inside animals from nearly 11km deep just proves the severity of the problem. And now, it’s not just affecting sea life, it’s circling back to humans…
Scary Statistics
Each year, over 8 million tons of plastic makes its way into our oceans. Experts have said that there will be more plastic in our seas than fish by 2150. These pollutants are gravely harming over 600 species around the world, which will most probably lead to the sixth mass extinction on Earth if we don’t act fast. So, how can we move forward, you ask?
Make Better More Responsible Choices
The situation is not totally hopeless, but humans have to make serious changes to stop wasteful behaviors and consumption. Instead of treating the ocean like a trashcan, it’s up to us to clean up our acts and make better choices as consumers and as human beings. Don’t use or rely on single-use plastics like polythene-bags, disposals, and packaging. Other things to do include clean-up expeditions and purchasing good made of recycled plastics and then recycling them once again are a few small ways to help out.Â