The Bermuda triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

1. Geographic Location

• The vertices of the triangle vary, but generally include Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the island of Bermuda. It covers an area of roughly $500,000$ square miles ($1.3$ million $km^2$).

2. Origin of the Folklore and Myths

• Early Mentions (1950s):

  • E.V.W. Jones (1950): First reported a series of disappearances in the Miami area in an Associated Press article, detailing incidents like the loss of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers (Flight 19).

  • George X. Sand (1952): Wrote "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door" for Fate magazine, covering Flight 19 and mentioning other strange disappearances in the region.

  • Vincent Gaddis (1964): Coined the term "Bermuda Triangle" in an article for Argosy magazine titled "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle." His work significantly popularized the myth.

• Cultural Impact: The myth was heavily promoted by authors like Charles Berlitz, whose 1974 book "The Bermuda Triangle" became a bestseller, presenting many of the disappearances as unexplainable by conventional means.

3. Noted Incidents (Dates and Times)

• USS Cyclops (March 4, 1918):

  • A large U.S. Navy collier with $306$ crew and passengers disappeared en route from Barbados to Baltimore. No distress call was sent, and no wreckage was ever found. This remains one of the largest non-combat losses of life in U.S. Naval history.

• Flight 19 (December 5, 1945):

  • Five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, commanded by experienced pilot Lieutenant Charles C. Taylor, disappeared during a training exercise over the Atlantic. All $14$ airmen were lost.

  • A PBM Mariner flying boat, sent on a search and rescue mission for Flight 19, also disappeared with $13$ crew members. This incident is central to many Bermuda Triangle narratives.

• Star Tiger and Star Ariel (1948 and 1949):

  • Two British South American Airways Avro Tudor passenger planes disappeared without a trace over the Atlantic in separate incidents, leading to formal inquiries that concluded no definitive cause could be determined.

• SS Marine Sulphur Queen (February 4, 1963):

  • A $524$ foot long American tanker carrying molten sulfur disappeared off the coast of Florida with $39$ crew members. An investigation concluded the ship was unseaworthy and likely broke apart at sea, but its sudden disappearance fueled further legends.

4. Scientific Facts and Explanations

• High Traffic Area: The Bermuda Triangle is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, linking North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Statistically, a higher volume of traffic naturally leads to a higher number of incidents.

• Environmental Factors:

  • Hurricanes and Tropical Storms: The region is frequently affected by severe weather, including sudden, violent storms and hurricanes that can quickly engulf vessels and aircraft.

  • Gulf Stream: The powerful and swift Gulf Stream current flows through the area, which can quickly carry wreckage far from the site of a disappearance, making recovery difficult.

  • Depth: The seafloor in the Bermuda Triangle contains some of the deepest oceanic trenches in the world, making recovery of wreckage challenging or impossible.

• Magnetic Anomalies: While compasses can experience minor variations due to local magnetic fields on Earth, scientific studies have shown no unusual magnetic properties in the Bermuda Triangle that would cause unexplained disappearances.

• Methane Hydrates (Clathrate Hypothesis):

  • This theory suggests that large deposits of methane gas trapped as hydrates under the seafloor could occasionally erupt, releasing massive bubbles of gas.

  • If a ship were caught in such a bubble, its buoyancy could be drastically reduced, causing it to sink rapidly without a trace.

  • For aircraft, sudden methane release could cause engine failure or structural stress. However, there is no direct evidence linking specific disappearances to methane hydrate eruptions.

• Human Error: A significant number of incidents are attributed to navigation errors, poor judgment, mechanical failures, or inexperienced crews navigating challenging conditions.

5. Debunking the Myth

• Larry Kusche's Research: In his 1975 book "The Bermuda Triangle Mystery – Solved," researcher Larry Kusche meticulously investigated many alleged disappearances and found that:

  • Many incidents were exaggerated or fabricated by popular accounts.

  • Weather reports were often omitted, and ships were sometimes reported missing long after they were confirmed lost elsewhere.

  • The number of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle is not statistically greater than in other similarly heavily traveled and stormy areas of the ocean.

• Official Stance: Organizations like the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Lloyd's of London do not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as a particularly hazardous area or attribute any disappearances to supernatural or unexplainable causes. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains that