The deepest ocean trench on earth. What is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench
There are 5 oceans on Earth, which occupy a significant part of the land. Having conquered space and landed a man on the Moon, sending autonomous spacecraft to the most distant planets of the solar system, people know negligibly little about what is hidden in sea depths on his home planet.
What is the Mariana Trench?
This is the name of the deepest place known today. Pacific Ocean. It is a trench formed by the convergence of tectonic plates. Maximum depth Mariana Trench is approximately 10,994 meters (2011 data). There are other trenches in all other oceans, but not so deep. Only the Java Trench (7729 meters) can be compared with the Mariana Trench.
Location
The deepest place on Earth is located in the western Pacific Ocean, near the Mariana Islands. The trench stretches along them for one and a half thousand kilometers. The bottom of the depression is flat, its width ranges from 1 to 5 kilometers. The trench got its name in honor of the islands next to which it is located.
"Challenger Deep"
This name has the most deep place(10,994 meters) Mariana Trench. Here it is necessary to explain that it is not yet possible to obtain the exact dimensions of this gigantic trough of the ocean floor. The speed of sound at different depths is very different, and the Mariana Trench has a very complex structure, so the data obtained using an echo sounder is always slightly different.
History of discovery
People have long known that deep-sea places exist in the seas and oceans. In 1875, the English corvette Challenger opened one of these points. What depth of the Mariana Trench was recorded then? It was 8367 meters. The measuring instruments at that time were far from ideal, but even this result made a stunning impression - it became clear that the deepest point of the ocean floor on the planet had been found.
Gutter studies
In the 19th century, it was simply impossible to explore the bottom of the Mariana Trench. At that time, there was no technology that would allow one to descend to such a depth. Without modern means diving was tantamount to suicide.
The trench was re-examined many years later, in the next century. Measurements taken in 1951 showed a depth of 10,863 meters. Then, in 1957, members of the Soviet scientific vessel Vityaz studied the depression. According to their measurements, the depth of the Mariana Trench was 11,023 meters.
The last study of the trench was carried out in 2011.
Cameron's Great Journey
The Canadian director became the third person in the history of exploration of the Mariana Trench to descend to its bottom. He was the first in the world to do it alone. Before its sinking, the trench was explored by Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard in 1960 using the bathyscaphe Trieste. In addition, Japanese scientists tried to find out the depth of the Mariana Trench using the Kaiko probe. And in 2009, the Nereus apparatus descended to the bottom of the trench.
Descent to such incredible depth associated with a huge number of risks. First of all, a person is threatened by a monstrous pressure of 1100 atmospheres. It can damage the body of the device, which will lead to the death of the pilot. Another serious danger that lurks when descending to depth is the cold that reigns there. It can not only cause equipment failure, but also kill a person. The bathyscaphe may collide with rocks and be damaged.
For many years, James Cameron dreamed of visiting the deepest point of the Mariana Trench - the Challenger Deep. In order to carry out his plans, he equipped his own expedition. Especially for this, an underwater vehicle was developed and built in Sydney - a single-seat bathyscaphe Deepsea Challenger, equipped with scientific equipment, as well as photo and video cameras. In it, Cameron sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This event occurred on March 26, 2012.
In addition to photographs and video footage, the Deepsea Challenger bathyscaphe had to take new measurements of the trench and try to provide accurate data on its dimensions. Everyone was worried about one question: “How much?” The depth of the Mariana Trench, according to the apparatus, was 10,908 meters.
The director was impressed by what he saw below. Most of all, the bottom of the depression reminded him of a lifeless lunar landscape. Scary inhabitants he did not meet the abyss. The only creature he saw through the submersible's porthole was a small shrimp.
After have a good trip James Cameron decided to donate his bathyscaphe to the Oceanographic Institute so that it could continue to be used to explore the depths of the sea.
Creepy denizens of the deep
The lower the ocean floor, the less sun rays penetrates through the water column. The depth of the Mariana Trench is the reason that impenetrable darkness always reigns in it. But even the absence of light cannot become an obstacle to the emergence of life. Darkness gives birth to creatures that have never seen the sun. And they, in turn, were only recently able to be seen by marine biologists.
This spectacle is not for the faint of heart. Almost all the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench seem to have been born from the imagination of an artist who creates monsters for horror films. Seeing them for the first time, you might think that they do not live next to a person on the same planet, but are alien creatures, they look so alien.
To some extent, this is true - negligible little is known about the oceans and their inhabitants. The bottom of the Mariana Trench has been explored less than the surface of Mars. That's why for a long time it was believed that at such a depth without sunlight life is impossible. It turned out that this was not the case. The depth of the Mariana Trench, gigantic pressure and cold are not an obstacle to the formation of amazing creatures living in complete darkness.
Most of them have an ugly appearance due to terrible living conditions. The pitch darkness reigning in the depths made the marine inhabitants of these places completely blind. Many fish have huge teeth, such as howliods, which swallow their prey whole.
What can living creatures that are so far from the surface of the ocean eat? At the bottom of the depression, the remains of living organisms accumulate, forming a multi-meter layer of bottom silt. The inhabitants of the depths feed on these deposits. Predatory fish have luminous areas of the body with which they attract small fish.
The gutter is inhabited by bacteria that can only develop at high pressure, single-celled organisms, jellyfish, worms, mollusks, and sea cucumbers. The depth of the Mariana Trench allows them to reach very large sizes. For example, amphipods found at the bottom of the trench are 17 centimeters long.
Amoebas
Xenophyophores (amoebas) are single-celled organisms that can only be seen with a microscope. But at depth these inhabitants of the Mariana Trench reach gigantic size- up to 10 centimeters. Previously, they were found at a depth of 7500 meters. Interesting feature These organisms, in addition to their size, have the ability to accumulate uranium, lead and mercury. Externally, deep-sea amoebas look different. Some are disc or tetrahedron shaped. Xenophyophores feed on bottom sediments.
Hirondellea gigas
Amphipods (amphipods) large sizes were discovered in the Mariana Trench. These deep-sea crayfish feed on dead organic matter that accumulates at the bottom of the depression and have a keen sense of smell. The largest specimen found was 17 centimeters in length.
Holothurians
Sea cucumbers are another representative of organisms that live at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This class of invertebrates feeds on plankton and bottom sediments.
Conclusion
The Mariana Trench has not yet been properly explored. No one knows what creatures inhabit it and how many secrets it holds.
People have always been attracted to something difficult to achieve, some kind of mystery, something that can keep a secret. For example, the highest point on Earth is Everest or the deepest point in the ocean is the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench). But if about 4 thousand people have already visited Everest, then only three people visited the “bottom of the Earth” - the first dive was made by two people - Don Walsh and Jean Picard in 1960, the next after them was a very famous director who shot such masterpieces , like Titanic, Terminator, Aliens, Avatar - James Cameron.
Bathyscaphe "Trieste" - it was on it that people made the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench
Mariana Trench Facts:
- The depth of the trench is 10,994 ± 40 m below sea level, as measured in 2011;
- The Mariana Islands, located nearby, gave their name to the deepest point on Earth;
- The trench stretches for one and a half thousand kilometers along these same islands;
- The geology of the basin is a large tectonic fault where one plate slides under another.
The pressure at the bottom is 1100 times greater than on the surface of the Earth, but this does not interfere with life at these depths. It also has its own inhabitants who have adapted to live in darkness and under such pressure.
These are mainly tiny single-celled organisms - Foraminifera:
The size of such living creatures is only 1 mm, although during the first dive of the bathyscaphe in history with people, the researchers noted that they met flat fish with a diameter of up to 30 cm, similar in appearance to flounder.
History of measurements and dives to the bottom of the Mariana Trench:
The British first tried to measure the lowest point on Earth in 1875, but their lot (a device for measuring depths) reached a depth of just over 8 thousand meters. 76 years later in 1951, another British ship, but interestingly with the same name, the Challenger, used an echo sounder to calculate a depth of 10,863 meters. Since then, the lowest point of the Mariana Trench has been called the Challenger Deep. In 1957 already soviet ship"Vityaz" conducted research here and determined the depth of 11,023 meters.
Each new expedition that measured the depth provided its own figures, which differed from the previous ones. Such errors are associated primarily with the properties of water, which can vary depending on the depth.
The latest updated depth information is 10,994 meters with an accuracy of ±40 m.
The first people to visit the ocean floor were researchers Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard, and it happened on January 23, 1960.
“Trieste” was the name of the bathyscaphe on which scientists descended to the ocean depths. The descent took 4 hours 48 minutes, after staying there for 20 minutes, the bathyscaphe went to the top and the ascent took 3 hours
Bathyscaphe Deepsea Challenger on which the director carried out his dive
The next descent of man occurred only 52 years later in 2012. James Cameron is a legendary director, the third in history to descend to this place, and the first to do it alone. Unlike his predecessors, Cameron spent 6 hours at the bottom and took a number of photographs and High Quality video recording The dive took 2 hours and the ascent took only 1 hour.
And finally, a video filmed from the Deepsea Challenger bathyscaphe, in which James Cameron made his dive.
Video from the Mariana Trench:
I suggest you watch another interesting video from National Geographic since last dive:
The Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) is a deep-sea trench located in the western Pacific Ocean. Today, the Mariana Trench is the deepest place on the planet. The deepest point of the trench is called the Challenger Deep.
The history of research into the Mariana Trench begins in 1875, when the British corvette Challenger lowered a deep-sea lot into the trench and recorded a depth of 8367 m. In 1951, the British repeated the experiment using an echo sounder and recorded maximum depth at 10,863 m. In 1957, a Russian expedition on the ship “Vityaz” was able to record a new depth of the depression - 11,023 m. Studies in 1995 and 2011 showed new figures - 10,920 and 10,994 m, respectively.
3 people were able to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench. In 1960, the bathyscaphe Trieste sank to the bottom of the depression, carrying explorer Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant John Walsh. They descended to a depth of 10,918 m and dispelled the myth that life at such a depth is impossible. Bathyscaphe "Trieste" discovered flat fish about 30 cm long at the bottom of the depression.
In 1995, the Japanese probe “Kaiko” was lowered into the depression, with the help of which new microorganisms were discovered - foraminifera.
In 2012, American director James Cameron descended on the Deepsea Challenger submersible to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. It reached a depth of 10,898 m. The bathyscaphe was equipped with all possible recording equipment, so Cameron was able to capture unique footage of underwater life.
Mariana Trench Map
On satellite map The Mariana Trench looks like a large fold on the ocean floor. The depression is a trench stretching for 1500 km. The width of the depression is from 1 to 5 km. At the bottom of the trench, mountains were discovered that were formed about 180 million years ago during the movement lithospheric plates. The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is 108.6 MPa, which is 1072 times higher than Atmosphere pressure at the level of the World Ocean.
Riddles and secrets of the Mariana Trench
Complexity of the study ocean depths led to the formation of many myths and legends around the Mariana Trench. Some believe that prehistoric monsters live at the bottom of the depression, others believe that Cthulhu sleeps there.
During the descent to the bottom of the cavity of the research apparatus "Ezh", belonging to the vessel "Glomar Challenger", recording instruments recorded some kind of metallic grinding sound. It was decided to bring the device on board. When the device was taken out of the water, they discovered that the 20-centimeter cable on which the Hedgehog was lowered into the depression was half sawn through.
Despite the fact that the oceans are closer to us than the distant planets of the solar system, people have explored only five percent of the ocean floor, which remains one of our planet's greatest mysteries. The deepest part of the ocean - the Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is one of the deepest famous places, about which we still don’t know very much. With water pressure that is a thousand times greater than at sea level, diving into this place is akin to suicide. But thanks modern technologies and to several brave souls who, risking their lives, went down there, we learned a lot of interesting things about this amazing place.
The Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean east (about 200 km) of the 15 Mariana Islands near Guam. It is a crescent-shaped trench in earth's crust about 2550 km long and 69 km wide on average.
Mariana Trench coordinates: 11°22′ northern latitude and 142°35′ east longitude.
According to the latest research in 2011, the depth of the deepest point of the Mariana Trench is about 10,994 meters ± 40 meters. For comparison, the height of the high peak world - Everest is 8,848 meters. This means that if Everest were in the Mariana Trench, it would be covered by another 2.1 km of water.
Here are others Interesting Facts about what can be found along the way and at the very bottom of the Mariana Trench.
1. Very hot water
Going down to such depths, we expect it to be very cold. Temperatures here reach just above zero, varying from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. However, at a depth of about 1.6 km from the surface of the Pacific Ocean there are hydrothermal vents called “black smokers”. They shoot water that heats up to 450 degrees Celsius.
This water is rich in minerals that help support life in the area. Despite the water temperature being hundreds of degrees above the boiling point, the water here does not boil due to the incredible water pressure, 155 times higher than on the surface.
2. Giant toxic amoebas
A few years ago, giant 10-centimeter amoebae called xenophyophores were discovered at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. These single-celled organisms likely became so large because of the environment they live in at a depth of 10.6 km. Cold temperature, high pressure and the lack of sunlight most likely contributed to the enormous size of these amoebas.
In addition, xenophyophores have incredible abilities. They are resistant to many elements and chemical substances, including uranium, mercury and lead, which would kill other animals and people.
3. Shellfish
The intense water pressure in the Mariana Trench does not give any animal with a shell or bones a chance of survival. However, in 2012, shellfish were discovered in a trench near serpentine hydrothermal vents. Serpentine contains hydrogen and methane, which allows living organisms to form. How the mollusks preserved their shells under such pressure remains unknown.
In addition, hydrothermal vents emit another gas, hydrogen sulfide, which is lethal to shellfish. However, they learned to bind the sulfur compound into a safe protein, which allowed the population of these mollusks to survive.
4. Pure liquid carbon dioxide
The Champagne Mariana Trench hydrothermal vent, which lies outside the Okinawa Trench near Taiwan, is the only known underwater area where liquid carbon dioxide can be found. The spring, discovered in 2005, was named after the bubbles that turned out to be carbon dioxide.
Many believe these springs, called "white smokers" due to their lower temperatures, may be the source of life. It was in the depths of the oceans, with low temperatures and an abundance of chemicals and energy, that life could begin.
5. Slime
If we had the opportunity to swim to the very depths of the Mariana Trench, we would feel that it was covered with a layer of viscous mucus. Sand, in its familiar form, does not exist there. The bottom of the depression is mainly made up of crushed shells and remains of plankton that have sunk to the bottom over the years. Due to the incredible water pressure, almost everything there turns into fine grayish-yellow thick mud.
6. Liquid sulfur
The Daikoku volcano, which is located at a depth of about 414 meters on the way to the Mariana Trench, is the source of one of the most rare phenomena on our planet. There is a lake of pure molten sulfur here. The only place where liquid sulfur can be found is Jupiter's moon Io.
In this pit, called the "cauldron", the bubbling black emulsion boils at 187 degrees Celsius. Although scientists have not been able to explore this site in detail, it is possible that even more liquid sulfur is contained deeper. This could reveal the secret of the origin of life on Earth.
According to the Gaia hypothesis, our planet is one self-governing organism in which everything living and nonliving is connected to support its life. If this hypothesis is correct, then a number of signals can be observed in the natural cycles and systems of the Earth. So the sulfur compounds created by organisms in the ocean must be stable enough in the water to allow them to move into the air and return to land.
7. Bridges
At the end of 2011, four stone bridge, which extended from one end to the other for 69 km. They appear to have formed at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.
One of the Dutton Ridge bridges, which was opened in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. At its highest point, the ridge reaches 2.5 km above the Challenger Deep. Like many aspects of the Mariana Trench, the purpose of these bridges remains unclear. However, the very fact that these formations were discovered in one of the most mysterious and unexplored places is surprising.
8. James Cameron's Dive into the Mariana Trench
Since the discovery of the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep, in 1875, only three people have visited it. The first were American Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard, who dived on January 23, 1960 on the Challenger.
52 years later, another person dared to dive here - the famous film director James Cameron. So on March 26, 2012, Cameron went down to the bottom and took several photographs. During James Cameron's 2012 dive into the Challenger Deep on the DeepSea Challenge submersible, he attempted to observe everything that was happening in the area until mechanical problems forced him to the surface.
While he was at the deepest point of the world's oceans, he came to the shocking conclusion that he was completely alone. There were no scary things in the Mariana Trench sea monsters or some miracles. According to Cameron, the very bottom of the ocean was "lunar...empty...lonely" and he felt "complete isolation from all humanity."
9. Mariana Trench
10. The Mariana Trench in the ocean is the largest nature reserve
The Mariana Trench is a US national monument and the largest marine sanctuary in the world. Since it is a monument, there are a number of rules for those who want to visit this place. Within its borders, fishing and mining are strictly prohibited. However, swimming is allowed here, so you could be the next one to venture into the deepest place in the ocean.
As children, we all read many legends about incredible sea monsters ah, inhabiting the ocean floor, always knowing that these are just fairy tales. But we were wrong! These incredible creatures can be found even today if you dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth. Read our article about what the Mariana Trench hides and who its mysterious inhabitants are.
The deepest place on the planet is the Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench- is located in the western Pacific Ocean near Guam, east of the Mariana Islands, from which its name comes. The shape of the trench resembles a crescent, about 2,550 km long and an average width of 69 km.
According to the latest data, the depth Mariana Trench is 10,994 meters ± 40 meters, which even exceeds the most high point on the planet - Everest (8,848 meters). So this mountain could well be placed at the bottom of the depression, moreover, there would still be about 2,000 meters of water above the top of the mountain. The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench reaches 108.6 MPa - this is more than 1,100 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure.
Man only fell to the bottom twice Mariana Trench. The first dive was made on January 23, 1960 by US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard in the bathyscaphe Trieste. They stayed at the bottom for only 12 minutes, but during this time they managed to meet flat fish, although according to all possible assumptions there should have been no life at such a depth.
The second human dive took place on March 26, 2012. The third person who touched the secrets Mariana Trench, became a film director James Cameron. He dived on the single-person Deepsea Challenger and spent enough time there to take samples, take pictures and film 3D video. Later, the footage he shot formed the basis documentary film for the National Geographic Channel.
Due to the strong pressure, the bottom of the depression is covered not with ordinary sand, but with viscous mucus. For many years, the remains of plankton and crushed shells accumulated there, which formed the bottom. And again, due to pressure, almost everything is at the bottom Mariana Trench turns into fine grayish-yellow thick mud.
Sunlight has never reached the bottom of the depression, and we expect the water there to be icy. But its temperature varies from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. IN Mariana Trench at a depth of approximately 1.6 km are the so-called “black smokers”, hydrothermal vents that shoot water up to 450 degrees Celsius.
Thanks to this water Mariana Trench life is supported as it is rich in minerals. By the way, despite the fact that the temperature is significantly higher than the boiling point, water does not boil due to very strong pressure.
At approximately a depth of 414 meters is the Daikoku volcano, which is the source of one of the rarest phenomena on the planet - a lake of pure molten sulfur. IN solar system this phenomenon can only be found on Io, a satellite of Jupiter. So, in this "cauldron" the bubbling black emulsion boils at 187 degrees Celsius. So far, scientists have not been able to study it in detail, but if in the future they can advance in their research, they may be able to explain how life appeared on Earth.
But the most interesting thing about Mariana Trench- these are its inhabitants. After it was established that there was life in the depression, many expected to find incredible sea monsters there. For the first time, the expedition of the research vessel Glomar Challenger encountered something unidentified. They lowered a device into the depression, the so-called “hedgehog” with a diameter of about 9 m, made in a NASA laboratory from beams of ultra-strong titanium-cobalt steel.
Some time after the descent of the apparatus began, the device recording sounds began to transmit to the surface some kind of metallic grinding sound, reminiscent of the grinding of saw teeth on metal. And unclear shadows appeared on the monitors, reminiscent of dragons with several heads and tails. Soon, scientists became worried that the valuable apparatus might remain forever in the depths of the Mariana Trench and decided to lift it onto the ship. But when they removed the hedgehog from the water, their surprise only intensified: the strongest steel beams of the structure were deformed, and the 20-centimeter steel cable on which it was lowered into the water was half sawn through.
However, perhaps this story was embellished too much by the newspapers, since later researchers discovered very unusual creatures, but not dragons.
Xenophyophores are giant, 10-centimeter amoebas that live at the very bottom Mariana Trench. Most likely due to strong pressure, lack of light and relatively low temperatures these amoebas acquired enormous sizes for their species. But in addition to their impressive size, these creatures are also resistant to many chemical elements and substances, including uranium, mercury and lead, which are lethal to other living organisms.
Pressure in M ariana trench turns glass and wood into powder, so only creatures without bones or shells can live here. But in 2012, scientists discovered a mollusk. How he preserved his shell is still not known. In addition, hydrothermal springs emit hydrogen sulfide, which is fatal to shellfish. However, they learned to bind the sulfur compound into a safe protein, which allowed the population of these mollusks to survive.
And that is not all. Below you can see some of the inhabitants Mariana Trench, which scientists managed to capture.
Mariana Trench and its inhabitants
While our gaze is directed to the sky towards the unsolved mysteries of space, our planet remains unsolved mystery- ocean. To date, only 5% of the world's oceans and secrets have been studied Mariana Trench This is only a small part of the secrets that are hidden under the water.