Florida’s ocean floor just collapsed, with sudden oceanic sinkholes emerging off the coast. Massive craters have opened beneath the water, swallowing sandbars and reshaping the seafloor in hours.
In late 2024, a NOAA research vessel mapping the continental shelf near the Florida Straits identified large circular depressions on the seafloor. Some of these sinkholes measured over 300 feet across and descended deeper than a 30-story building. Underwater drone footage showed sediment columns spiraling downward and water currents flowing into the voids. Researchers determined that these feature…