A picture from the Gulf of Alaska where two oceans, ’Atlantic’ and ‘Pacific’, meets has recently resurfaced on the Internet. For the last few years, it has been making the rounds on the web.
Although in recent weeks, it shows an unusual phenomenon.
In the gulf, the two types of water run into each other; a light, almost electric blue merging with a darker slate-blue is seen when heavy, sediment-laden water from glacial valleys and rivers pours into the open ocean.
However, on social media, if you have come across the viral video, do not believe it.
The viral video in question shows an ocean with a clear separation line, with blue water on one side and murky on the other side.
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The false claims
It claims that this is the meeting point of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans where “they touch but do not mix with each other”.
This same video with the same claim has recently resurfaced on the Facebook page ‘PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN’.
The place where the two oceans meet is in question. The explanation for the photo is a simple one, though there are many misconceptions about it.
Different views regarding this phenomenon
Some users on Facebook have shared other versions of the claim in the form of a video that similarly appears to show a phenomenon where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet.
One user who shared the video on February 15 claims it was taken on a cruise ship at the tip of South America.
He also adds: “Why do these waters not mix? Because there is a huge difference in salinity between the clear water that comes from melting glaciers, which is cool and low in salt, while the water from the second ocean has a high salt concentration.”
“Therefore, the two oceans have different densities, which makes them almost impossible to mix,” putting further emphasis upon it.
In particular, on the popular link-sharing website Reddit, where users have on multiple occasions erroneously attributed the photo’s location as “Where the Baltic and North Sea meet.”
It further goes on to state that the two types of water are completely incapable of ever mixing, instead perpetually butting against each other like a boundary on a map.
