The Bermuda Triangle is reported to have supernatural qualities.

How convincing is the evidence

for this claim? Justify your answer.

The Bermuda Triangle is an imaginary triangle of sea in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Puerto
Rico and Miami (Kruszelnicki 2005). Many planes and ships passing through the Triangle have
mysteriously “disappeared”, thus raising many questions. Such incidents have been popularly
attributed to paranormal activity as well as scientific reasons; however, there is reason to believe
that the Triangle’s notorious reputation is based on sensationalised anecdotal evidence rather than
any other theory put forward. Given the large variety of explanations, this essay will focus only on
alien activity, spacetime warps, methane hydrate beds and turbulent weather condition.

A theory popular among fantasists - people who indulge in imagination either partially or fully
unrestricted by reality - is that alien activity was responsible for the disappearances, either because
aliens have abducted whole planes and ships along with the people inside, or because underwater
alien settlements send out electromagnetic energies which interfere with navigating technology
(Rodegher n.d.). There has been no concrete evidence found to suggest extra-terrestrial involvement
in the disappearances. It is more likely that, due to the human tendency to justify and sometimes
sensationalise inexplicable events, the idea of alien activity has risen to satisfy this tendency. Alien
existence has long been a human fascination, leading people to link mysterious disappearances to
extra-terrestrial powers. For example, the USS John F. Kennedy reported a UFO sighting whilst in the
Bermuda Triangle (Kopf, n.d.) but was unable to provide any proof. Anecdotal evidence without any
concrete evidence such as a convincing UFO sighting recorded on film is not credible and cannot be
used to support the theory regarding alien activity.

Another theory states that ships and aircraft had been transported mysteriously to different places.
(Quasar n.d.) This is based on Albert Einstein’s theory that the mysterious gravitational force keeping
planets in orbit around the Sun is actually the Sun’s warping, or curving, of space around itself,
drawing planets into its sphere and forcing them into orbit (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical
Physics n.d.). A black hole is an extremely huge mass concentrated in a small region, which causes
objects within its horizon, including light, to be sucked into it (Bunn 1995a). Wormholes, put simply,
are black holes with an exit. This allows anything entering to travel a very long distance in a short
time (Bunn 1995b). An analogy is drawn between the warping of cosmic bodies such as the Sun and
a similar warp existing in the Bermuda Triangle, accounting for the disappearances. Although
seemingly scientific, the original theory of space curvature has been distorted slightly. Einstein’s
theory explained the gravitational fields of cosmic bodies where Newton’s theory lacked an
explanation - Newton only described a “mysterious gravitational force” but was unable to explain its
source (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics n.d.); however, this well-established theory has
been erroneously extrapolated, giving rise to fictional ideas. Scientists state that such a great pulling
force can only originate from an object with colossal mass, many times greater than that of the Sun
(Bunn 1995c). It is therefore sensible to believe that no such warp could exist in the Bermuda
Triangle as there is not enough mass concentrated in that region to accommodate it.

A more scientific theory concerns beds of methane hydrate found below the Bermuda Triangle.
Organisms called archaea living near the sea bed release methane gas which, in high concentrations,
leads to the formation of methane hydrates: methane molecules encased in lattices of water
molecules. These methane hydrate beds can release large amounts of methane gas which bubble to
the surface, greatly reducing the surface water density and causing entire ships to sink due to lack of
buoyancy. Methane is also extremely flammable, and can cause explosions if the gas is sucked into
the engines while the aircraft is flying near the ocean surface. It should be noted that the Bermuda
Triangle is not the only known area of ocean containing methane hydrates (Kruszelnicki 2005).
Therefore, ships are likely to have sunk in any other region of ocean containing methane beds,
reinforcing the idea that the disappearances were nothing extraordinary, but rather exaggerated
due to the cognitive error in only remembering memorable events (Boss 2009 pp. 112-114). This
means that after several disappearances, each subsequent disappearance became increasingly
conspicuous and people assumed that all the disappearances were interrelated, when in fact such
disappearances were common in other regions.

Another theory is that these incidents were a result of extremely turbulent weather. Although clear,
sunny weather was usually reported on the day of each disappearance, clear-air turbulence (CAT)
may be the cause (Stamler 2002). “CAT occurs when converging air masses collide and try to occupy
the same space at the same altitude… Clear-air turbulence is nearly impossible to detect with the
naked eye, and conventional radar is ineffective in locating it.” (Barnard 2008). Violent cases of CAT
can wreck planes into pieces of debris and kill all its passengers (Stamler 2002). Although CAT
explains the sudden loss of communications with the aircraft, it does not cover the absence of plane
parts and human bodies or the ships vanishing. Also, the tropical Caribbean weather in the Triangle
could account for some of the damage, since that region is prone to frequent hurricanes and, on
rarer occasions, vicious tsunamis (Mercado & McCann n.d.). It is fairly credible that hurricanes could
have severely damaged some ships and aircraft passing through the Triangle. However, CAT and
tropical hurricanes, just like the methane hydrates, do not occur only in the Bermuda Triangle but
are common elsewhere (Barnard 2008). This again suggests that each individual event has been
mistakenly correlated with the others when there are actually no connections.

Fascination with the so-called Bermuda Triangle is unnecessary since the scientific theories that
explain the disappearances could apply to various other parts of the world. A nickname like
“Bermuda Triangle” appeals to popular culture and grants pseudoscience an opportunity to propose
its own theories. Scientific theories such as the ones discussed in this essay are more likely to have
caused the disappearances, compared to those with roots in the paranormal. Paranormal theories
are often disguised as seemingly scientific by using complex language, which to the majority of the
population, is impressive and too difficult to refute. Nevertheless, the human cognitive error in
drawing links between several events that coincidentally happen in the same way, whilst
disregarding evidence for similar phenomena under different conditions, is most probably the basis
of many so-called mysteries such as the Bermuda Triangle.
Reference List:

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