Right, here’s why people think barnacles could be the answer to finding the MH370 plane

It’s been ten years since the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board and was never found. Although seriously expensive government and private hunts for the plane were conducted, the aircraft was never recovered and families of the passengers continue to fight for further investigation.

There have been endless online theories – many detailed in Netflix’s recent documentary – about what actually happened to MH370. But one of the latest ideas is that barnacles could actually help scientists figure out where the plane is. So, in case you’re confused, here’s the crustacean conspiracy explained:

Wait so, why do scientists think barnacles could help us find the missing MH370 plane?

Credit: Netflix

Over the ten years since the MH370 plane went missing a lot of debris believed to be from the aircraft has been discovered. Some of these fragments – washed up along the African coast and on islands in the Indian ocean – have been barnacle-encrusted, which marine biologists think they can use to trace the way back to MH370’s crash site.

If we believe the plane crashed, and there are many conflicting theories, then barnacles could be a key clue in discovering MH370’s final location. Because, basically, barnacles grow their shells every day with the temperature of the water, which alters their chemistry. So, scientists can use this data to figure out where a crustacean was each different day, meaning barnacles on MH370 debris could lead them back to the rest of the vessel.

So far, experts have been looking in a multi-million dollar search area called The Seventh Arc for MH270. However, there have been no results and French scientists now believe the plane could have drifted further in the Indian Ocean to where the water was about 2°C warmer.

So, will the hunt for MH370 continue a decade after its disappearance?

Credit: Supian Ahmad/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

This week Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has said he’s willing to launch a new search for MH370 if there’s compelling new evidence.

“We have taken the position that if there is a compelling case, evidence that it needs to be re-opened, we’re certainly happy to reopen,” Anwar told a press conference in Melbourne. “Whatever needs to be done must be done.”

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Phantom cell phone theory: Why MH370 passengers’ mobiles still rang after plane was lost 

• All the theories about what happened to missing MH370 plane – 10 years after disappearance

• Inside MH370’s cargo theory that links the United States Air Force to the missing plane

Featured image credit via Netflix