On the Black Sea coast, residents of Abkhazia observe a natural phenomenon that allows them to see the mountains on the other side of the coast. Is it a mirage or reality, said Roman Dbar, director of the Institute of Ecology of Abkhazia. According to him, we are talking about an optical effect.
“What we see is actually an optical effect. These are real mountains that exist. In winter, when the water surface temperature is high enough and a kind of lens is formed above the sea surface and the rest of the atmosphere, associated with different densities of the atmosphere, it enlarges the real mountains. Thanks to this lens, this image is formed, an image magnified tens of times due to the refraction of rays above the surface of the sea,” Apsnypress quotes the scientist.
Such optical effects most often appear in nature in winter. During this period, the temperature on the sea surface remains high, and in winter Abkhazia also has a more transparent atmosphere. In summer it is rare to observe such effects. This is largely due to the fact that in the summer the atmosphere is saturated with vapors and is not so transparent.
According to Dbar, the mountains that are visible from the Abkhazian coast are most likely located at a distance of 220 km from us.
“This is the Lazistan mountain range in the eastern part of the Pontic Mountains. We can see the highest peak Kachkar (3,937 m), which is located in Turkey on the border with Georgia,” he clarified.
In order to see the real mountains that are on the opposite side of the Black Sea without an optical effect, you need to at least climb to a height of 10 km, that is, even if these mountains were as tall as Everest, they would barely be visible just above the surface horizon.
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2023-12-31 18:05:00
