# Odd lines at sea **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 29, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435 "2013-12-29T21:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/1 "2013-12-29T21:00:09Z")
Anybody know what [these strange marks](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Jacksonville,+NC&hl=en&ll=34.41654,-76.153793&spn=0.513201,1.056747&sll=34.398978,-76.083069&sspn=0.513309,1.056747&oq=jackson&t=h&hnear=Jacksonville,+Onslow,+North+Carolina&z=11)on the ocean floor off the North Carolina coast are? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/2 "2013-12-29T21:06:24Z")
Weird. Looks like some kind of imaging artifact. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/3 "2013-12-29T21:11:54Z")
Could be artifacts but especially for the underwater imaging, Google tends to smooth those away. They show up on GE, too (no surprise, same imaging database). ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/4 "2013-12-29T21:33:21Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Anybody know what [these strange marks](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Jacksonville,+NC&hl=en&ll=34.41654,-76.153793&spn=0.513201,1.056747&sll=34.398978,-76.083069&sspn=0.513309,1.056747&oq=jackson&t=h&hnear=Jacksonville,+Onslow,+North+Carolina&z=11)on the ocean floor off the North Carolina coast are? My first thought was an artifact created by the processing. However, it could be sand mining for the beach. No idea whether beach replenishment efforts have been done there, but if so, it is possible this is where the sand came from. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/5 "2013-12-30T01:42:35Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Could be artifacts but especially for the underwater imaging, Google tends to smooth those away. They show up on GE, too (no surprise, same imaging database). IMHO, Especially for the underwater imaging, do assume any strangeness to be an artifact. You can tell how the dots are arranged in a grid pattern and the lines … these are mapping some feature of the sea floor ? the edge of the continent by the looks ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/6 "2013-12-30T02:36:07Z")
I vote for an imaging anomaly. It is rather reminiscent of the [giant piece of tape on the shores of Lake Baikal](http://www.gearthhacks.com/forums/showthread.php?9473-Lake-Baikal-held-together-by-Duct-Tape), which used to appear on Google Earth (now, sadly, removed). In this case, perhaps, the tape has been partially hidden and smoothed over by the blue wash that is put over all things ocean. As I heard it, the Baikal tape was a real piece of tape, accidentally left showing when actual physical aerial photographs were taped together and rephotographed in order to create the intended seamless image to be used by Google. You could see the texture of the fabric weave in the Baikal tape, and there appears to be a hint of that here too. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/7 "2013-12-30T02:51:28Z")
Imaging artifact. It’s more obvious if you head up to the shore between Buxton and Rodanthe, then look east. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/8 "2013-12-30T03:03:35Z")
While those are the most obvious ones, there are many other odd lines and markings along the continental shelf that are clearly artifacts. The lines are much too far offshore and are in water too deep to be due to sand mining, dredging, or other human activity. They are also too straight and run right across ridges and other bumps. ---
**Author:** ![kaltkalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@kaltkalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaltkalt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/9 "2013-12-30T03:28:25Z")
remnants of Atlantis, obviously ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/10 "2013-12-30T03:33:52Z")
never attribute to artifact which is more easily explained by aliens. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/11 "2013-12-30T03:46:55Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I vote for an imaging anomaly. It is rather reminiscent of the [giant piece of tape on the shores of Lake Baikal](http://www.gearthhacks.com/forums/showthread.php?9473-Lake-Baikal-held-together-by-Duct-Tape), which used to appear on Google Earth (now, sadly, removed). I would love to see a pic of this. I couldn’t find anything. (My Google-fu is inferior to Google’s hide-fu.) Anyone know anything more about this? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/12 "2013-12-30T04:35:09Z")
> [@j\_sum1](#): > > I would love to see a pic of this. I couldn’t find anything. (My Google-fu is inferior to Google’s hide-fu.) Anyone know anything more about this? I believe [this is it](http://s00.yaplakal.com/pics/pics_original/0/3/7/229730.jpg). (I found a smaller version originally [here](http://www.gecoolplaces.com/related.php?place=strange_baikal_line) by Google Image searching “google earth baikal tape.” It was the first hit.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/13 "2013-12-30T06:45:18Z")
> [@kaltkalt](#): > > remnants of Atlantis, obviously Not Atlantis again! That thing gets everywhere. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=686581&highlight=atlantis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=686581&highlight=atlantis) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/14 "2013-12-30T11:13:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I believe [this is it](http://s00.yaplakal.com/pics/pics_original/0/3/7/229730.jpg). > > (I found a smaller version originally [here](http://www.gecoolplaces.com/related.php?place=strange_baikal_line) by Google Image searching “google earth baikal tape.” It was the first hit.) Yes, that is it. Clearly your Google-fu is better than mine. It is a pity those pictures are both zoomed so far out, though. As I said, if you zoomed in close you used to be able to see teh weave in the tape, and see it running over the mountains. I thought I might find it in Google Earth’s “Historical Imagery”, but I am not having any luck. It was actually there for quite a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/15 "2013-12-30T12:23:22Z")
I may be pointing out the obvious, but apart from a very thin strip around coasts, islands and a few other areas, the ocean on Google Maps/Google Earth is not really any form of “imagery”. It’s just a solid blue tint over a relief model of the ocean floor. Those lumps and bumps are just defects in the relief model. (See [here](http://goo.gl/maps/2H430) where the actual photography of the beach and breaking waves is quickly faded out into the uniform blue of the ocean.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/16 "2013-12-30T13:39:57Z")
It’s imagery (seafloor imaging, they often call it) - it’s just not photographic imaging. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/17 "2013-12-30T15:15:18Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Not Atlantis again! That thing gets everywhere. > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=686581&highlight=atlantis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=686581&highlight=atlantis) Just wanted to point out that one of the responses to that post links to another Google sea floor image with the same type of lines, claiming that they are specifically due to the trail of the ship doing the scanning. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/18 "2013-12-30T15:25:35Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Yes, that is it. Clearly your Google-fu is better than mine. It is a pity those pictures are both zoomed so far out, though. As I said, if you zoomed in close you used to be able to see teh weave in the tape, and see it running over the mountains. I thought I might find it in Google Earth’s “Historical Imagery”, but I am not having any luck. It was actually there for quite a long time. Found [this on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=FLUT6BTsGonZRPELcM80pMKA&v=VkBbc5FzYyg&feature=player_detailpage#t=19), where they zoom into the tape. It’s amusing reading some of the, um, more [fanciful theories](http://www.disclose.tv/forum/mayan-light-beam-photo-message-from-gods-or-iphone-glitch-t68843.html) about what the “light in Russia” is: > [@](#): > > and the light in Russia is still on google earth!! also on terra server but u wont be able to zoom in on the source/temple as i have because it was so long ago u could even do it on google earth, then they changed the entire map part to an image of night?! then now its changed again!! > > i would defiantly call it a Temple or Pyramid u can see the stairs and a monument statue at the top, > cords are 53\* 109 Russia > > Read more: [http://www.disclose.tv/forum/mayan-light-beam-photo-message-from-gods-or-iphone-glitch-t68843.html#ixzz2oyKZQkcg](http://www.disclose.tv/forum/mayan-light-beam-photo-message-from-gods-or-iphone-glitch-t68843.html#ixzz2oyKZQkcg) It’s a piece of tape, guys. (ETA: I just realized that the Youtube video and that forum post are by the same person, thinking the “light” points to some sort of pyramid or tomb in Russia.) Anyhow, [this appears to be the biggest still version](http://immagini.p2pforum.it/out.php/i128279_1.jpg) of it that I could find. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/19 "2013-12-30T21:58:57Z")
Was it ever officially confirmed as a piece of tape? I know it looks like it has a fabric weave to it, but I wonder if it might just have been an image processing artifact with repeating/periodic elements in it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435/20 "2013-12-30T22:48:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Was it ever officially confirmed as a piece of tape? I know it looks like it has a fabric weave to it, but I wonder if it might just have been an image processing artifact with repeating/periodic elements in it. I thought I had read so, but that’s a good point. I’m not sure I’ve seen adhesive tape that has such a horizontal and vertical pattern to it. There is a regularity to it that does seem to be a bit more than tape holding things together. A poster [here](http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/07/more-scotch-tape/) attributes it to something called a “swath error.” I’m going to retract the assertion that it’s a piece of tape. It might be, but I’m unsure now. Definitely not some kind of spiritual beam into the tombs of Russia, though. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-lines-at-sea/677435.md?page=2)