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Friday, March 16, 2007

 

Monster whirlpool off Sydney

‘A massive, mysterious whirlpool of cold water has developed off the coast of Sydney, forcing the sea surface to fall almost 1m and ocean currents to change course.

Dubbed a sea “monster” by CSIRO oceanographers, the huge body of water stretches almost 200km across and plunges 1000m towards the ocean floor. Its centre sits just 100km off the coast of Sydney and could stay there for months.

Scientists are baffled by the powerful cold-water eddy, which is invisible to the human eye but can be tracked through satellite images.

At its centre the sea level has dropped by 70cm, while the water 400m below the surface is 6C colder than normal at that depth.’




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