...............The Blue Hole of the Bahamas
                                              23.57 LT   78.02 LN


    Imagine  that you're snorkeling off the coast of the  Bahamas 
and suddenly the clear, shallow reef you've been exploring  drops 
away  beneath you, forming a dark chasm.  Unsure what to make  of 
your strange discovery, you follow the reef's edge, looking for a 
way  around, but soon you're back where you started.   The  chasm 
seems to be a perfect circle.
 
    Returning  to your boat, you start the engines and guide  her 
through  the coral banks.  Ahead, you see a vast, dark  patch  in 
the ocean and catch the fin of something large break the surface.  
Was  it  a  shark or a harmless manta  ray?   You  approach  more 
carefully, watching the sea around the boat for signs of trouble.  
The  dark  patch  looms ahead; soon the reef ends  and  you  find 
yourself afloat over a tremendous hole in the ocean.  You've just 
found a geological phenomenon called a "blue hole".
 
    Blue  holes are actually vast, underwater caverns  originally 
hollowed  out  by fresh water and later filled  with  sea  water.  
Little is known about the interior of this particular blue  hole, 
but  Stephen Wold, the Manatee Harbor geologist accompanying  you 
on this mission, believes it may contain stalactites--significant 
if true, because stalactites would confirm that the hole was once 
a true cave located above the water's surface, a fact which could 
shed light on Earth's ancient history.  Besides photographing the 
hole's  interior, you must check for the presence of  stalactites 
and,  if  possible, use the minisub's robotic arm to  retrieve  a 
sample.  
 
     Should  you succeed, Team Manatee will add another piece  to 
the  puzzle of Earth's early history and your reputation  in  the 
scientific community will be well established.  Good luck!


