Not such a rare phenomenon is the visible boundary between communicating bodies of water: two seas, a sea and an ocean, a river and a tributary, etc. And yet, it always looks so unusual that you involuntarily wonder: why do their waters not mix?
1. North Sea and Baltic Sea
The meeting point of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea near the city of Skagen, Denmark. Water does not mix due to different densities.
2. Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
3. Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
The meeting point of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Antilles.
The meeting point of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean on Eleuthera Island, Bahamas. On the left is the Caribbean Sea (turquoise water), on the right is the Atlantic Ocean (blue water).
4. The Suriname River and the Atlantic Ocean
The meeting point of the Suriname River and the Atlantic Ocean in South America.
5. Uruguay River and its tributary
The confluence of the Uruguay River and its tributary in the province of Misiones, Argentina. One of them is cleared for needs Agriculture, the other in the rainy season becomes almost red with clay.
6. Rio Negro and Solimões (section of the Amazon)
7. Mosel and Rhine
The confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers in the city of Koblenz, Germany. Rhine - lighter, Moselle - darker.
8. Ilz, Danube and Inn
The confluence of the three rivers Ilz, Danube and Inn in Passau, Germany. Ilts is a small mountain river (in the 3rd photo in the lower left corner), the Danube is in the middle and the Inn is light in color. The Inn, although wider and fuller than the Danube at the confluence, is considered a tributary.
9. Alaknanda and Bhagirathi
The confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in Devaprayag, India. Alaknanda is dark, Bhagirathi is light.
10. Irtysh and Ulba
The confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. The Irtysh is clean, the Ulba is muddy.
11. Jialing and Yangtze
The confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers in Chongqing, China. The Jialing River stretches for 119 km. In the city of Chongqing, it flows into the Yangtze River. The clear waters of Jialing meet the brown waters of the Yangtze.
12. Irtysh and Om
The confluence of the Irtysh and Om rivers in Omsk, Russia. Irtysh - muddy, Om - transparent.
13. Irtysh and Tobol
The confluence of the Irtysh and Tobol rivers near Tobolsk, Tyumen region, Russia. Irtysh - light, cloudy, Tobol - dark, transparent.
14. Chuya and Katun
The confluence of the Chuya and Katun rivers in the Ongudaysky district of the Altai Republic, Russia. The Chuya water in this place (after confluence with the Chaganuzun River) acquires an unusual cloudy white lead color and seems dense and thick. Katun is clean and turquoise. Combining together, they form a single two-color stream with a clear boundary and flow for some time without mixing.
15. Green and Colorado
The confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers national park Canyonlands, Utah, USA. Green is green and Colorado is brown. The channels of these rivers run through rocks of different composition, which is why the colors of the water are so contrasting.
16. Rona and Arv
The confluence of the Rhone and Arves in Geneva, Switzerland. The river on the left is the transparent Rhone, which emerges from Lake Leman. The river on the right is the muddy Arve, which is fed by the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley.
All myths cannot be broken at once, especially when they are created daily by those who wish, but as such questions come in and a small technical or analytical study is carried out, it is possible and I would even say necessary.
Just recently, one of my old acquaintances and a good friend whom I have not seen for a long time wrote to me. Nothing out of the ordinary "hello, how are you, haven't seen you for a long time", and in the text of the letter he said that he read my works and decided to ask a question that had tormented him for a long time - Why in some places fresh and salty sea water does not mix. Thus, the topic for the next post in LabOrder (laboratory of orders) was determined.
I have already come across this question, and often in conversations with the same people - religious ones, who, at every convenient occasion mentioned that the Holy Qur'an speaks of not mixing fresh and salt water, and used this statement as an argument in favor of the fact that this book knows what science cannot explain until now. Previously, I simply dismissed such "arguments" due to the fact that I am an agnostic, and I have an irreparable conviction that often religion either does not correctly interpret physical phenomena, or creates and demonstrates certain tricks in order to attract more followers in their ranks. But since a person asked, especially my old friend - let's figure it out.
To begin with, let's ask the holy book what it says about immiscible waters, specifically and in the text. Why text? Often, everyone interprets certain words, in an incomprehensible translation, and wishful thinking.
Since this sura consists of 77 ayat, we will consider only the ayat that we need where this statement about not mixing water is mentioned. ayat
<<25:53. Аллах - Тот, кто создал два моря рядом: в одном море - пресная вода, а в другом море - солёная. Оба моря рядом друг с другом, но Он поставил нерушимую преграду между ними, и они не смешиваются благодаря благоволению Аллаха и Его милосердию к людям>>
But even on this site, the substitution of concepts and the reinterpretation of original statements are already underway. From which I ask people who read such literature to be careful. Here, for example, is the translation of the Quran by Valeria Porokhova (Al Furqan 25:53):
<<Он - Тот, Кто в путь пустил два моря:
Pleasant and fresh - one,
Salty and bitter - another.
He put a barrier between them -
Such an unbreakable barrier
(Which never allows them to merge)>>
It should also be noted that this phenomenon is repeated in sura ayat 19-20.
Pleasant and insipid - Salty and bitter. Well, now you can more or less reliably see what, where and where. It is quite possible that the example with the seas is a metaphor and nothing more. But let's even say that.
In general, I repeat that the main argument is often the fact that in holy book the truth is mentioned which was not yet known to science before the village. And they even say that the famous scuba inventor and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau converted to Islam when he first saw this phenomenon in reality. But I'm afraid it might not happen, as with the astronaut Armstrong.
In order to begin to understand this problem, we need to list the places on the planet and the conditions in which a similar phenomenon is observed, where water from one reservoir does not mix with water from another.
<< Галоклин - слой воды, в котором солёность резко изменяется с глубиной (наблюдается большой вертикальный градиент солёности). Один из видов хемоклина. Ввиду того, что солёность влияет на плотность воды, галоклин может играть роль в её вертикальной стратификации (англ.) (расслоении). Повышение солёности на 1 кг/м3 приводит к увеличению плотности морской воды приблизительно на 0,7 кг/м3 >>
<<…А. И. Воейков впервые дал верное объяснение наличию теплой воды на глубинах северной части Индийского океана. Он утверждал, что В БАБ-ЭЛЬ-МАНДЕБСКОМ ПРОЛИВЕ ДОЛЖНО СУЩЕСТВОВАТЬ НИЖНЕЕ ТЕЧЕНИЕ ОЧЕНЬ ТЕПЛОЙ И СОЛЕНОЙ ВОДЫ ИЗ КРАСНОГО МОРЯ В ИНДИЙСКИЙ ОКЕАН. Впоследствии это БЫЛО ДВАЖДЫ ПОДТВЕРЖДЕНО НАБЛЮДЕНИЯМИ в указанном проливе: во время плаваний С. О. МАКАРОВА на «Витязе» в 1886-1889 гг. И АНГЛИЙСКОЙ ЭКСПЕДИЦИЕЙ на судне «Старк» в 1898 г.>>
2) Strait of Gibraltar - between the Iberian Peninsula and the northwestern coast of Africa, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
If you believe this photo, then it was taken in this very place. And the interface that is visible on it is the difference in salinity, which for some reason does not mix.
Again, there are no reliable sources of information that this phenomenon can be observed in this form as shown in the picture above, again, except for you know which sites. Moreover, in different sources this image is attributed to a different location. Okay, let's see where we have "fresh" here and where there is "salt". The Atlantic Ocean is salty, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, which is more salty than the ocean itself. It has been established that the water exchange between these two reservoirs along the upper reaches brings 42.3 thousand km3 to the Mediterranean Sea, and the lower reaches 40.8 thousand km3 of water per year from the sea. What kind of "non-mixing" of water is in question here, one can only guess.
Also, if you believe Valeria Porokhova herself, this barrier and a clear separation is observed in almost every river that flows into any sea (on video from 2:00). Yeah, especially when it comes to the Volga and the Caspian Sea, where could the astronaut see the dividing line there? History is silent.
Watch your hands.
Obviously, and most likely, the first thing that surprises people is the clear interface that is shown in the photographs to confirm that the water does not really mix. But my dears, how can water not mix if the world water exchange is almost a fundamental law. Only partly, a relatively blurred interface can be observed due to a number of physical phenomena which can be observed either temporarily or at different depths depending on the changing water temperature, salinity, surface tension and current directions carrying it with different speeds thus slowing down the diffusion process. I repeat, regarding the clear dividing line, which some people claim and the absence of water exchange, in such places, alas, there are no official and reliable sources.
Why not bring in confirmation of an isolated lake that would have a similar clear division, a "sweet - slide" of water. Maybe because it doesn't exist?
Increasingly, it is the straits and connections of rivers with the seas that are cited as an example. As a result of the connection of two different waters, where the phenomenon appears on which the diffusion process takes place according to the above factors. Why, for example, is no one surprised by such a boundary found in nature?
Maybe because these obvious things were simply not written in Scripture?
On the other hand, no one claims that in the Holy Book, there is generally a detailed explanation of anything except - it was done by God and in His Name!
What is the root of this trick? Yes, in the fact that 1400 years ago this was already described in the Koran, and science is only now making such discoveries. Well, okay. Science simply, besides making discoveries, tries to explain them, by the way, its key difference from any religion, which simply points to God.
That is, what do deeply religious people want to convey to us? And the fact that 1400 years ago, the only one who knew that when connecting two water reservoirs there would be no dividing line, it was Holy Bible Koran. And until this moment, for some reason, no one noticed this phenomenon among people who have already been using the fleet with might and main for at least 4000 years. That's it.
And finally, watch this video (I did not give the name to it). Do you still think that deeply religious people who mix reality with faith are capable of professionalism in a particular profession? Especially such as pilots, doctors, scientists, physicists, teachers, designers, etc. ..?
Islamic scholars have given the verse different interpretations of the expression "Two seas", mentioned in verse 19 of Surah Rahman "He mixed the two seas that meet each other." For example: a) the heavenly sea and the earthly sea. b) Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean (Taberi, XIII/128; Beidavi, VI/139). c) Oceans surrounding the continents and inland seas(Hamdi Yazyr, VII/371). d) Physical seas and spiritual seas. e) A sea of literal and figurative meaning (Hamdi Yazyr, VII/372). In the next verse, Allah Almighty says: “There is a barrier between them that they cannot cross” (ar-Rahman 55/20). Along with the fact that, as already mentioned above, the phrase "two seas" can have different meanings, the external meaning of the verse indicates two seas, one of which is with salt water and the other with fresh water. And by “barrier” it is possible that the different density of water in these two seas is meant, which does not allow them to mix. I would like to dwell on this issue in more detail. Based on the fact that the verses of the Qur'an reveal each other, one should look in which other verses mention this question: “He is the One who mixed the two seas: one is pleasant, fresh, and the other is salty, bitter. He placed between them a barrier and an insurmountable obstacle” (al-Furqan 25/53). As follows from the words of oceanologists in the southern and northern parts of the Strait of Gibraltar, two huge sources beat from the bottom of the sea fresh water, which prevents the mixing of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. I would like to draw attention to the fact that how this barrier works is explained in several verses of the Qur'an, in suras: Furqan (25/53), Naml (27/61), Fatir (35/12), Rahman (55/19 -20). Thus we see that it is amazing phenomenon was explained by the Almighty fourteen centuries ago, and people made this discovery just recently, in our days. Islam-Today Two seas that do not mix, described in the Koran! Exploring the expanses of water in the Strait of Gibraltar, Jacques Yves Cousteau discovered an amazing fact that cannot be explained by science: the existence of two water bodies that do not mix with each other. They seem to be separated by a film and have a clear boundary between them. Each of them has its own temperature, its salt composition, animal and vegetable world. These are the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in contact with each other in the Strait of Gibraltar. “In 1962,” says Jacques Cousteau, “German scientists discovered that in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea converge, the waters of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean do not mix. Following the example of our colleagues, we began to find out whether the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea mix. We first explored the waters of the Mediterranean - its natural salinity, density and life forms. We did the same in the Atlantic Ocean. These two masses of water have been meeting in the Strait of Gibraltar for thousands of years, and it would be logical to assume that these two huge water masses should have been mixed long ago - their salinity and density should have become the same, or at least similar. But even in places where they converge closest, each of them retains its properties. In other words, at the confluence of two masses of water, the water curtain did not allow them to mix.” Upon discovering this obvious and incredible fact, the scientist was extremely surprised. “I rested on my laurels for a long time at this amazing phenomenon, which cannot be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry,” writes Cousteau. But the scientist experienced even greater surprise and admiration when he found out that this was written in the Koran 1400 years ago. He learned about it from Dr. Maurice Boukay, a Frenchman who converted to Islam. “When I told him about my discovery, he told me skeptically that this was said in the Koran 1400 years ago. It was like a bolt from the blue for me. And indeed, it turned out that way when I looked at the translations of the Koran. Then I exclaimed: “I swear that this Koran, from which modern science lagging behind by 1400 years, cannot be human speech. This is the true speech of the Most High.” After that, I accepted Islam and every day I was amazed at the truth, justice, ease, usefulness of this religion. I am infinitely grateful that He opened His eyes to the Truth,” Cousteau writes further.
Miracle of the Qur'an: Seas that don't mix
Sura 55 "The Merciful":
19. He confused two seas that meet each other.
20. Between them there is a barrier that they cannot cross.
Sura 25 "Discrimination":
53. He is the One who mixed two seas (kinds of water): one is pleasant, fresh, and the other is salty, bitter. He placed between them a barrier and an insurmountable obstacle.
Exploring the expanses of water in the Strait of Gibraltar, Jacques Yves Cousteau discovered an amazing fact that cannot be explained by science: the existence of two water bodies that do not mix with each other. They seem to be separated by a film and have a clear boundary between them. Each of them has its own temperature, its salt composition, flora and fauna. These are the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in contact with each other in the Strait of Gibraltar.
“In 1962,” says Jacques Cousteau, “German scientists discovered that in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea converge, the waters of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean do not mix. Following the example of our colleagues, we began to find out whether the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea mix. We first explored the waters of the Mediterranean - its natural salinity, density and life forms. We did the same in the Atlantic Ocean. These two masses of water have been meeting in the Strait of Gibraltar for thousands of years, and it would be logical to assume that these two huge water masses should have been mixed long ago - their salinity and density should have become the same, or at least similar. But even in places where they converge closest, each of them retains its properties. In other words, at the confluence of two masses of water, the water curtain did not allow them to mix.”
Upon discovering this obvious and incredible fact, the scientist was extremely surprised. “I rested on my laurels for a long time at this amazing phenomenon, which cannot be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry,” writes Cousteau.
But the scientist experienced even greater surprise and admiration when he found out that this was written in the Koran 1400 years ago. He learned about it from Dr. Maurice Boukay, a Frenchman who converted to Islam.
“When I told him about my discovery, he told me skeptically that this was said in the Koran 1400 years ago. It was like a bolt from the blue for me. And indeed, it turned out that way when I looked at the translations of the Koran. Then I exclaimed: “I swear that this Koran, from which modern science lags behind by 1400 years, cannot be the speech of a person. This is the true speech of the Most High.” After that, I accepted Islam and every day I was amazed at the truth, justice, ease, usefulness of this religion. I am infinitely grateful that He opened His eyes to the Truth,” Cousteau writes further.
Photo - Strait of Gibraltar, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The waters seem to be separated by a film and have a clear boundary between them. Each of them has its own temperature, its salt composition, flora and fauna.
Earlier, in 1967, German scientists revealed the fact of non-mixing of water masses in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the waters of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean converge. Following the example of his colleagues, Jacques Cousteau began to find out whether the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea mix. First, he and his team explored the waters of the Mediterranean—its natural salinity, density, and life forms. The same was done in the Atlantic Ocean. These two masses of water have been meeting in the Strait of Gibraltar for thousands of years, and it would be logical to assume that these two huge water masses should have mixed long ago - their salinity and density should have become the same, or at least similar. But even in places where they converge closest, each of them retains its properties. In other words, at the confluence of two masses of water, the water curtain did not allow them to mix.
If you look closely, you can see different colors of the sea in the second photo, and different wavelengths in the first photo. And between them, as if, an impenetrable wall.
It's about surface tension.
Surface tension is one of the most important parameters of water. It determines the strength of adhesion between the molecules of the liquid, as well as the shape of its surface at the border with air. It is due to surface tension that a drop, puddle, jet, etc. is formed. The volatility (evaporation) of any liquid also depends on the adhesion forces of molecules. The lower the surface tension, the more volatile the liquid. Alcohols and other organic solvents have the lowest surface tension.
If water had a low surface tension, it would evaporate very quickly. But water, nevertheless, has a rather large value of surface tension.
Visually, surface tension can be represented as follows: if you slowly pour tea into a cup to the brim, then for some time it will not pour out through the rim. In transmitted light, you can see that a very thin film has formed above the surface of the liquid, which prevents the tea from pouring out. It swells as it is topped up and only, as they say, with the “last drop”, the liquid pours out over the edge of the cup.
So the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea are not able to mix. The magnitude of surface tension is determined by the varying degrees of density of sea water, this factor is like a wall that prevents the waters from mixing.
