Gigantic Whale Cemetery Discovered in Indian Ocean

Sanya/Solomons. Researchers have discovered a gigantic whale cemetery in the southeastern Indian Ocean. About 1,000 kilometers west of the Australian city of Perth, they found bones protruding from the sediment in the Diamantina Fracture Zone at a depth of around 7,000 meters. Whale fossils have never before been discovered anywhere near this depth, as was the case during the expedition with the Chinese submersible "Fendouzhe" in early 2023.

The extent of the so-called necropolis became clear during more than 30 further dives. It stretches over a length of 1,200 kilometers and lies at a depth of 4,200 to 7,000 meters, as the team led by Xiaotong Peng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Sanya reports in the journal "Nature". It is by far the deepest, largest, and oldest known whale cemetery. The researchers identified almost 480 whale remains, some several million years old.

When a whale dies, its carcass usually sinks into the depths, lands on the seabed, and serves as a food source for a variety of organisms. Although such so-called whale falls are very common overall, the group writes, only just over 70 such areas have been documented so far. It is assumed that there are many other whale cemeteries worldwide.

According to the researchers, there are several reasons why so many whale remains have accumulated in this particular region. For example, the V-shaped topography of the deeply incised zone contributes to the accumulation of carcasses. Beaked whales, in particular, have a very high bone density – their skeletons decompose particularly slowly. They are additionally protected by a layer of iron-manganese oxide that coats the fossils.