Something strange is happening beneath American waters.
A quiet mystery is unfolding below the waves—one that’s beginning to challenge our understanding of both science and national security. A popular UFO-tracking app has detected thousands of incidents that suggest the unknown isn’t limited to the skies. Instead, it stretches deep into the oceans, where light fades, pressure crushes, and explanations evaporate.

Enigma, a platform that describes itself as the world’s largest searchable archive of historical UFO and UAP data, has logged over 9,000 mysterious encounters within ten miles of U.S. coastlines and inland waterways since its launch in late 2022. More than 500 of those occurred within five miles of shore. Over 150 witnesses reported strange objects hovering above the water—or slipping silently beneath it.

Enigma’s database now contains more than 30,000 reports of Unidentified Flying Objects and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). What sets the latest entries apart, however, is not what appeared in the sky—but what appeared to come from the sea.

Recent maps released by Enigma reveal glowing clusters of orange dots along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Eyewitnesses describe luminous shapes emerging from the depths or vanishing beneath the surface without creating a ripple. Some of these encounters have been filmed on cell phones; others were captured on calibrated military sensors capable of detecting heat, movement, and radar signatures that science cannot yet explain.

Unidentified Submersible Objects: UFOs That Dive Beneath Waves

Unidentified Submersible Objects—USOs—are considered the underwater counterparts to UFOs. The term applies to any unidentified phenomenon detected below the surface of oceans, lakes, or rivers.

What makes USOs especially perplexing is their apparent ability to transition seamlessly between air and water. Witnesses describe objects moving from sky to sea without a splash, a sonic boom, or even a trace of turbulence. Experts refer to this as “transmedium” movement—a concept that defies our understanding of physics, propulsion, and materials science.

Reports have come from a staggering range of sources. Medieval sailors chronicled glowing spheres vanishing into the sea. Modern Navy sonar operators have tracked impossible underwater movements. Civilian witnesses have filmed shimmering objects gliding beneath clear coastal waters. Even calibrated military instruments—radar, sonar, and infrared—record patterns that resist all conventional explanation.

Eerie Green Lights Captured Moving Below Ocean Surface

Among the most striking pieces of evidence in Enigma’s database are videos of eerie green lights moving below the surface. One widely viewed clip, recorded in the Fort Lauderdale River in Florida, shows two brilliant green lights traveling underwater in perfect formation against a backdrop of city lights and buildings.

Other witnesses across the U.S. describe similar phenomena: glowing orbs emerging suddenly from the ocean, hovering for moments, and then plunging back into the depths without producing a single splash. Luminous shapes have been seen racing beneath waves at astonishing speeds—too fast for any known submersible vehicle.

Phone footage offers glimpses of these events, but quality varies. Military instruments, however, deliver far more reliable data—and even they leave experts puzzled. What propulsion system could function flawlessly in both air and water? What technology allows movement without wake, friction, or heat?

California and Florida Lead Nation in Underwater Anomaly Reports

Patterns in Enigma’s data reveal geographic hot spots. California tops the list with 389 USO reports, followed by Florida with 306. Both states rank among the top three in U.S. coastline length, making them prime regions for observation—but possibly also for unexplained activity.

Clusters of sightings appear along major shipping routes, naval training zones, and commercial maritime corridors. Analysts debate whether this distribution reflects where USOs actually appear or simply where more humans are present to witness them.

A study by Marine Technology News found that sighting density correlates with coastal population and vessel traffic. Yet many reports come from remote regions—areas where few observers should be present at all. Others were logged during classified military exercises, far from civilian access. That inconsistency deepens the mystery.

USS Omaha Incident Raises Alarm Bells at Pentagon

One case stands above the rest for its clarity and official verification. In July 2019, crew members aboard the Navy destroyer USS Omaha tracked a spherical object off the coast of San Diego. Infrared video shows the object hovering before plunging into the Pacific Ocean—and disappearing without a trace.

There was no splash, no debris, and no sonar contact afterward. Within seconds, an object visible on multiple Navy tracking systems simply ceased to exist.

Filmmaker Jeremy Corbell later obtained and released the footage in 2021. The Pentagon confirmed its authenticity, verifying that it was recorded by Naval personnel as part of an official investigation into unidentified anomalous phenomena. For the first time, the U.S. military acknowledged that something inexplicable was captured by multiple instruments in a controlled environment.

Officers aboard the Omaha were left without explanation. Analysts found no evidence of drones, missiles, or natural events. Whatever the object was, it performed maneuvers that exceeded any known human technology.

Retired Admiral Calls USOs “World-Changing” National Security Threat

Retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, former acting head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and an oceanographer by training, has become one of the most prominent voices urging serious investigation. In March 2024, he published a 29-page report for the Sol Foundation, a think tank dedicated to studying unidentified phenomena.

“The fact that unidentified objects with unexplainable characteristics are entering U.S. waters and the Department of Defense is not raising a giant red flag,” Gallaudet wrote, “shows that the government is withholding information about all-domain anomalous phenomena.”

He argues that cases like the USS Omaha reveal a critical gap in maritime defense awareness. The U.S., he warns, is “dangerously ignorant” about what occurs in its own ocean territories. Whether the objects are foreign or something beyond human design, he believes they could have “world-changing implications” for national security and scientific understanding alike.

Objects Defy Physics With Impossible Speed and Maneuvers

Technical analysis of these encounters exposes why experts like Gallaudet express alarm. Veteran Navy sonar operator Aaron Amick has described “fast mover” contacts—brief sonar detections that travel at speeds beyond measurable limits. “They’re so fast,” he explained, “that you can’t calculate velocity.”

Gallaudet’s report documents incidents where military-grade sensors recorded objects accelerating at thousands of Gs—far beyond what any known aircraft, drone, or submarine could survive. These craft transition between air and sea without shockwaves or heat signatures, and their propulsion systems leave no thermal or acoustic trail.

Such feats appear to violate the very laws of physics. Even with modern radar, sonar, and infrared tracking, analysts cannot explain how these objects move—or why they appear immune to drag, pressure, and inertia.

Medieval Chronicles to Modern Radar: Centuries of USO Reports

Though modern instruments now track them, reports of mysterious underwater lights go back nearly a thousand years. An 11th-century English chronicle described a fiery sphere repeatedly plunging into the sea off Northumberland’s coast.

In 1825, British naturalist Andrew Bloxam, sailing aboard HMS Blonde, wrote of a glowing red orb rising from the ocean “as bright as a red-hot cannonball.” It illuminated the deck so vividly that “a pin might be picked up” before it vanished back into the waves.

Throughout centuries, sailors told similar tales: glowing forms beneath the sea, luminous objects ascending into the sky, and craft that seemed to defy both gravity and hydrodynamics. Modern detection tools—radar, sonar, and satellite imaging—only confirm that something continues to behave in the same inexplicable way.

Gallaudet Testifies Before House Oversight Committee

In November 2024, Gallaudet appeared before the House Oversight Committee to warn lawmakers that USOs and transmedium UAP pose a “clear and present danger” to U.S. maritime security. Citing decades of credible reports and verified data, he called for these phenomena to become a national ocean research priority.

Lawmakers reacted with a mix of curiosity and concern. Some demanded greater transparency from defense agencies; others remained cautious. But nearly all agreed that if a foreign adversary has achieved such capabilities, the implications would be staggering.

Pentagon Verified Footage But Questions Remain Unanswered

The Pentagon’s confirmation of the USS Omaha video brought the issue into the mainstream—but answers remain elusive. Verification is not explanation. Officials acknowledge the event occurred but have not revealed what the object was or where it came from.

The All-domain Anomalous Resolution Office (AARO), established to investigate such cases, has been criticized for operating with limited funding and public transparency. Gallaudet argues that the Pentagon “is not sharing all it knows,” whether due to secrecy, uncertainty, or both.

Until more information is released, the mystery persists—and speculation grows.

Navy Officials Warn Underwater Threats Exceed Aerial Ones

According to Scot Christenson, director of communications at the U.S. Naval Institute, underwater anomalies may pose a greater operational risk than aerial ones. In a 2022 Naval History Magazine editorial, he noted that while no aircraft has ever been damaged by a UFO, countless naval operations have been disrupted by mysterious undersea events and sensor anomalies.

The ocean is an unpredictable, high-risk domain. Submarines rely on silence and stability; surface ships depend on accurate sonar mapping. Objects that dart unpredictably through water at impossible speeds threaten both safety and strategy.

Advanced Foreign Military Tech or Something Beyond Human Capability

Experts are divided between two main theories. Either these are breakthrough technologies developed by foreign powers like China or Russia, or they are manifestations of something beyond human engineering altogether.

Gallaudet leans toward the latter. “The observed velocities, accelerations, and transmedium behavior exceed anything humans can produce,” he asserts. But even he admits that dismissing potential human origins would be reckless—especially if the U.S. risks underestimating foreign military advancements.

Ocean Remains Least Understood Domain on Planet

Despite centuries of exploration, 95% of the ocean remains unmapped and unexplored. Gallaudet often reminds audiences that “we know more about the surface of Mars than about our own seabed.” The deep ocean is a vast blind spot—one that could easily conceal both natural phenomena and technological secrets.

Extreme pressure, darkness, and remoteness make observation difficult. If USOs operate within those depths, they could remain invisible to existing surveillance systems. Testing advanced technologies—or hiding them—would be far easier underwater than in space.

Americans Left Wondering About Deep Sea Mysteries

Enigma’s database continues to grow week after week. Reports pour in from sailors, pilots, fishermen, and ordinary beachgoers. California and Florida lead in numbers, but sightings stretch across the entire U.S. coastline.

Whether these reports represent misunderstood natural phenomena, secret military tests, or something truly alien, one truth endures: the oceans are keeping secrets.

For now, thousands of glowing orange dots mark Enigma’s maps—each representing a moment when human understanding fell short. Until science, transparency, and exploration catch up, whatever moves beneath American waters will remain one of the most compelling mysteries of our time.