A picture from the Gulf of Alaska that has been making the rounds on the Internet for the last few years -- though particularly in recent weeks -- shows a strange natural phenomenon that occurs when heavy, sediment-laden water from glacial valleys and rivers pours into the open ocean. There in the gulf, the two types of water run into each other, a light, almost electric blue merging with a darker slate-blue.

Informally dubbed “the place where two oceans meet,” the explanation for the photo is a simple one, though there are many misconceptions about it, including that catchy title. In particular on 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” and the two types of water as being completely incapable of ever mixing, instead perpetually butting against each other like a boundary on a map.

You also may have seen a variation on the photo featuring the same phenomenon, taken by photographer Kent Smith while on a July 2010 cruise in the Gulf of Alaska. That photo too has been circulating the web for some time, though the misconceptions about it seem to be less thanks to Smith's explanation of the photo on his Flickr page. That one has also been making the rounds on Reddit and social media for years, and had racked up more than 860,000 views by early 2013 on that one page alone, Smith said.

That original photo, however, originates from a 2007 research cruise of oceanographers studying the role that iron plays in the Gulf of Alaska, and how that iron reaches certain areas in the northern Pacific.

Ken Bruland, professor of ocean sciences at University of California-Santa Cruz, was on that cruise. In fact, he was the one who snapped the pic. He said the purpose of the cruise was to examine how huge eddies -- slow moving currents -- ranging into the hundreds of kilometers in diameter, swirl out from the Alaska coast into the Gulf of Alaska.

Those eddies often carry with them huge quantities of glacial sediment thanks to rivers like Alaska’s 286-mile-long Copper River, prized for its salmon and originating from the Copper Glacier far inland. It empties out east of Prince William Sound, carrying with it all that heavy clay and sediment. And with that sediment comes iron.

“Glacier rivers in the summertime are like buzzsaws eroding away the mountains there,” Bruland said. “In the process, they lift up all this material -- they call it glacial flour -- that can be carried out.”

Once these glacial rivers pour out into the larger body of water, they’re picked up by ocean currents, moving east to west, and begin to circulate there. This is one of the primary methods that iron -- found in the clay and sediment of the glacial runoff -- is transported to iron-deprived regions in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska.

As for that specific photo, Bruland said that it shows the plume of water pouring out from one of these sediment-rich rivers and meeting with the general ocean water. It’s also a falsehood that these two types of water don’t mix at all, he said.

“They do eventually mix, but you do come across these really strong gradients at these specific moments in time,” he said. Such borders are never static, he added, as they move around and disappear altogether, depending on the level of sediment and the whims of the water.

There is much study being conducted on how this iron influences marine productivity, in particular its effects on the growth of plankton, which Bruland referred to as “the base of the food chain.”

But rivers aren’t the only way that glacier sediment finds its way into the Gulf of Alaska -- occasionally strong winds can whip up enough silt to create a cloud of dust that’s visible even from space as its being carried out to sea.

So next time somebody shares a “really cool photo” of “the place where two oceans meet,” feel free to let them know the science behind the phenomenon. After all, in this Internet age,

Boybrano:
That's common man, we have that in kogi where river niger and river benue meets.

Holywizard:
this kind of wonders are in my village where a black stagnant water dont meet our main stream{ (Eze-Iyi), in English, Water king}. Legend has it dat dey re two enemies & their spirits dnt rapour. If u shud pour de different waters into a container, dey will separate & if it shud be in a bottle & u shake it, de bottle will bust. Spirits still dey exist

tenderlaw:
This is easily explained by the presence of seaweed which gives d green shoreline its colour. D dark blue areas are the sudden drop in depth of d land shelf. Just a little geography can do wonders, people. There's no superstition here.

tenderlaw:
This is easily explained by the presence of seaweed which gives d green shoreline its colour. D dark blue areas are the sudden drop in depth of d land shelf. Just a little geography can do wonders, people. There's no superstition here.

MarvelJ:

Noble Verse(s) 55:19-55:22
Yusuf Ali:
[055:019]  He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together:

[055:020]  Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress:
[055:021]  Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?

[055:022]  Out of them come Pearls and Coral:
Arabic (from right to left):

‏55:19 مرج البحرين يلتقيان
‏55:20 بينهما برزخ لايبغيان

‏55:21 فباي الاء ربكما تكذبان
‏55:22 يخرج منهما اللؤلؤ والمرجان



The Holy Quran is not only full of miracles but it is a miracle in itself. In its verses Allah, the Supreme Creator (or God Almighty) has invited all intelligent human beings to ponder over His marvelous creations and gain knowledge. Modern science is discovering slowly the events/objects that have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) over 1400 years ago through the Holy Quran.
One of such great miracle is the meeting of two oceans/seas in such a way that they flow side by side, or even within each other, but they don’t mix and mingle. In many places around this world there are two masses of sweet-water and salt-water flowing side by side at the same place but without mixing or mingling with each other

rerhji:
all dis have been explained in d holy Quran

MarvelJ:

Noble Verse(s) 55:19-55:22
Yusuf Ali:
[055:019]  He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together:

[055:020]  Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress:
[055:021]  Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?

[055:022]  Out of them come Pearls and Coral:
Arabic (from right to left):

‏55:19 مرج البحرين يلتقيان
‏55:20 بينهما برزخ لايبغيان

‏55:21 فباي الاء ربكما تكذبان
‏55:22 يخرج منهما اللؤلؤ والمرجان



The Holy Quran is not only full of miracles but it is a miracle in itself. In its verses Allah, the Supreme Creator (or God Almighty) has invited all intelligent human beings to ponder over His marvelous creations and gain knowledge. Modern science is discovering slowly the events/objects that have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) over 1400 years ago through the Holy Quran.
One of such great miracle is the meeting of two oceans/seas in such a way that they flow side by side, or even within each other, but they don’t mix and mingle. In many places around this world there are two masses of sweet-water and salt-water flowing side by side at the same place but without mixing or mingling with each other

fabiomatic:
you spoke my mind. jazakumullah khairan.

dwebwalker:


Wow now I have learnt something new thanks man...

dwebwalker:


your explanations no gel at all... if u don't believe in superstition... just know that something's are beyond science and beyond your understanding

tenderlaw:


My good man, why don't you use google one of these days? It doesn't kill, you know. I'm sure it'll rather cure most of this stupidity you were born with.

MarvelJ:

Noble Verse(s) 55:19-55:22
Yusuf Ali:
[055:019]  He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together:

[055:020]  Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress:
[055:021]  Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?

[055:022]  Out of them come Pearls and Coral:
Arabic (from right to left):

‏55:19 مرج البحرين يلتقيان
‏55:20 بينهما برزخ لايبغيان

‏55:21 فباي الاء ربكما تكذبان
‏55:22 يخرج منهما اللؤلؤ والمرجان



The Holy Quran is not only full of miracles but it is a miracle in itself. In its verses Allah, the Supreme Creator (or God Almighty) has invited all intelligent human beings to ponder over His marvelous creations and gain knowledge. Modern science is discovering slowly the events/objects that have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) over 1400 years ago through the Holy Quran.
One of such great miracle is the meeting of two oceans/seas in such a way that they flow side by side, or even within each other, but they don’t mix and mingle. In many places around this world there are two masses of sweet-water and salt-water flowing side by side at the same place but without mixing or mingling with each other

AceRoyal:
Science can explain all they can and want but the truth/fact is that GOD IS AWESOMELY GREAT!

Sibrah:
On a flat earth abi. keep pushing yourself hard.

dwebwalker:


Now that's a proper Naija guy, I heard something related to that in the Yoruba culture.... nice to hear yours too

dwebwalker:
The problem with science is, they want to have answers to everything and most times they are wrong...

something's can't be explained... simple

Holywizard:
this kind of wonders are in my village where a black stagnant water dont meet our main stream{ (Eze-Iyi), in English, Water king}. Legend has it dat dey re two enemies & their spirits dnt rapour. If u shud pour de different waters into a container, dey will separate & if it shud be in a bottle & u shake it, de bottle will bust. Spirits still dey exist

Holywizard:
this kind of wonders are in my village where a black stagnant water dont meet our main stream{ (Eze-Iyi), in English, Water king}. Legend has it dat dey re two enemies & their spirits dnt rapour. If u shud pour de different waters into a container, dey will separate & if it shud be in a bottle & u shake it, de bottle will bust. Spirits still dey exist