Last summer, Ocean Explorer used side-scan sonar to “photograph” something strange deep in the Baltic Sea, approximately 260 feet beneath the surface. Is it a natural rock formation? Or something else entirely?

Background

The object in question is about 200 feet in diameter, with a tail stretching over 1,300 feet across the sea floor. And no one knows for sure what it is. Opinions range from the plausible (a natural rock formation) to the wild (an Unidentified Submerged Object, or a USO).

Yesterday, a team of researchers led by Peter Lindberg and Dennis Asberg converged on the mysterious object. They plan to study it for 6-10 days.

“We’ll be searching the area in a number of ways. We’ll use sonar to make 3D images of the bottom, the clay bottom, of that part of the sea. We’ll send down deep-sea divers too. And a camera robot. We’ll also take samples from the sea bed and measure them for toxicities and radiation.” ~ Peter Lindberg

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

So, what is this thing? Some of the more realistic suggestions include: crash debris from a meteor, a natural gas well, or a shipwreck. Perhaps the most likely option is that it’s nothing at all.

“Side-scan sonar is not a photograph and it can create false echoes, so it’s not crystal clear what exactly it is that you’re recording. The object that we’re talking about is basically flush with the ocean floor, and side-scan sonar is much less reliable for things like that.” ~ Benjamin Radford, Deputy Editor, Skeptical Inquirer magazine

So, the jury is still out…at least for now. But we should have an answer in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

Guerrilla Explorer’s Coverage of the Baltic Anomaly

• 1/30/12: A Lost Shipwreck…or a Lost UFO?
• 6/2/12: The Baltic Anomaly?
• 6/6/12: The Baltic Anomaly: UFO…or just a Hot Spring?
• 6/8/12: The Baltic Anomaly: A New Discovery?
• 6/12/12: The Baltic Anomaly: Is it a Hoax?
• 6/13/12: The Baltic Anomaly: Another “Great Lakes Hoax”?
• 6/14/12: The Baltic Anomaly: The Lost Updates?
• 6/15/12: The Baltic Anomaly: Answers at Last?
• 6/16/12: The Baltic Anomaly: Questions & Speculation?
• 6/17/12: The Baltic Anomaly: What is Going on Here?
• 6/18/12: The Baltic Anomaly: The Bigger Picture?
• 6/19/12: The Baltic Anomaly: Is it a Black Smoker?
• 6/20/12: The Baltic Anomaly: That Mysterious Pillar?
• 6/21/12: The Baltic Anomaly: The Nazi Connection?
• 6/22/12: The Baltic Anomaly: The Ocean X Team Speaks!
• 6/23/12: The Baltic Anomaly: What is the next “Anomaly”?
• 6/27/12: The Baltic Anomaly: Is it Natural…or Artificial?
• 6/28/12: Breaking News: Is the Baltic Anomaly an Elaborate Hoax?
• 7/2/12: The Baltic Anomaly: What is the Secret Wreck?
• 7/6/12: The Baltic Anomaly: The Original Ocean X Team?
• 7/16/12: The Baltic Anomaly: The Fire and Ice Theory?