In honor of which it, in fact, got its name. The depression is a 2,550 km long crescent ravine on the ocean floor. with an average width of 69 km. According to the latest measurements (2014), the maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is 10 984 m. This point is located at the southern end of the trench and is called the "Challenger Abyss" (eng. Challenger deep).
The trench was formed at the junction of two lithospheric tectonic plates - Pacific and Philippine. The Pacific plate is older and heavier. For millions of years, it “crawled” under the younger Philippine plate.
Opening
For the first time, the Mariana Trench was discovered by a scientific expedition of a sailing ship " Challenger". Originally a warship, this corvette was converted into a research vessel in 1872 specifically for the Royal Society for the Advancement of Nature. The ship was equipped with biochemical laboratories, instruments for measuring depth, water temperature and soil sampling. In the same year, in December, the ship set out for scientific research and spent three and a half years at sea, covering a distance of 70 thousand nautical miles. At the end of the expedition, which was recognized as one of the most scientifically successful since the famous geographical and scientific discoveries of the 16th century, more than 4,000 new species of animals were described, in-depth studies of almost 500 underwater objects were carried out and soil samples were taken from various parts of the world's oceans.
Against the backdrop of important scientific discoveries made by Challenger, the discovery of an underwater trench, the depth of which amazes the imagination of even contemporaries, not to mention scientists of the 19th century, especially stood out. True, the initial measurements of the depth showed that its depth is just over 8,000 m, but even this value was enough to speak of the discovery of the deepest point known to man on the planet.
The new trench was named the Mariana Trench - in honor of the nearby Mariana Islands, which in turn are named after Marianne of Austria, Queen of Spain, wife of King Philip IV of Spain.
Exploration of the Mariana Trench continued only in 1951. Challenger II investigated the trench with an echo sounder and found that its maximum depth is much deeper than previously thought, and is 10 899 m. This point was given the name "Challenger Abyss" in honor of the first expedition of 1872-1876.
Abyss Challenger
Abyss Challenger is a relatively small flat plain in the south of the Mariana Trench. Its length is 11 km, and its width is about 1.6 km. There are gentle slopes along its edges.
Its exact depth, which is called a meter to a meter, is still unknown. This is due to the errors of the echo sounders and sonars themselves, the changing depth of the world's oceans, as well as the uncertainty that the very bottom of the abyss remains motionless. In 2009, the American vessel Kilo Moana (RV Kilo Moana) determined the depth of 10,971 m with a probability of an error of 22-55 m. Research in 2014 with improved multi-beam echo sounders determined that the depth is 10,984 the value is recorded in reference books and is currently considered the closest to the real one.
Dives
Only four scientific apparatus visited the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and only two expeditions were attended by people.
Project "Nekton"
The first descent into the Challenger Abyss took place in 1960 on a manned submersible “ Trieste", Named after the Italian city of the same name where it was created. It was operated by a US Navy lieutenant. Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard... The device was designed by Jacques' father - Auguste Piccard, who already had experience in creating bathyscaphes.
Trieste made its first dive in 1953 in the Mediterranean Sea, where it reached a record depth of 3,150 m. In total, the bathyscaphe made several dives between 1953 and 1957. and the experience of its operation has shown that it can dive to more serious depths.
Trieste was acquired by the US Navy in 1958, when the United States became interested in seabed exploration in the Pacific region, where some of the island states came under its de facto jurisdiction as the victorious country in World War II.
After some modifications, in particular even greater sealing of the outer part of the hull, Trieste began to prepare for diving into the Mariana Trench. Jacques Piccard remained the pilot of the bathyscaphe, since he had the greatest experience in managing Trier in particular and bathyscaphes in general. Don Walsh was chosen as his companion - the then lieutenant of the US Navy, who served on a submarine, and later became a famous scientist and naval specialist.
The project of the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was codenamed Project "Nekton", although this name did not take root among the people.
The dive began on the morning of January 23, 1960 at 8:23 am local time. Up to a depth of 8 km. the vehicle descended at a speed of 0.9 m / s, and then decelerated to 0.3 m / s. The researchers saw the bottom only at 13:06. Thus, the time of the first dive was almost 5 hours. At the very bottom, the bathyscaphe was only 20 minutes. During this time, the researchers measured the density and temperature of the water (it was + 3.3 ° C), measured the radioactive background, observed an unknown fish, similar to a flounder, and a shrimp that suddenly appeared on the bottom. Also, based on the measured pressure, the immersion depth was calculated, which was 11 521 m, which was later corrected to 10 916 m.
While at the bottom of the Abyss, the Challenger explored and refreshed themselves with chocolate.
After that, the bathyscaphe was freed from ballast and the ascent began, which took less time - 3.5 hours.
Underwater vehicle "Kaiko"
Kaiko (Kaikō) - the second of the four vehicles that reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench. But he went there twice. This unmanned ROV was created by the Japan Marine Science and Technology Agency (JAMSTEC) and was designed to study the deep sea bottom. The device was equipped with three video cameras, as well as two manipulator arms, remotely controlled from the surface.
He has made over 250 dives and contributed immensely to science, but his most famous voyage was in 1995, plunging 10,911m into the Challenger Abyss. It took place on March 24, and samples of benthic extremophile organisms were delivered to the surface - the so-called animals that can survive in the most extreme environmental conditions.
Kaiko returned to the Challenger Abyss again a year later, in February 1996, and took samples of soil and microorganisms from the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Unfortunately, Kaiko was lost in 2003 after the rope connecting him to the carrier vessel was broken.
Deep-sea vehicle "Nereus"
Unmanned remotely controlled deep-sea vehicle " Nereus"(Eng. Nereus) closes the three devices that reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench. His dive took place in May 2009. Nereus reached a depth of 10,902 m. He was sent to the site of the very first expedition to the bottom of the Challenger Abyss. He stayed at the bottom for 10 hours, broadcasting live video from his cameras to the carrier ship, after which he collected water and soil samples and successfully returned to the surface.
The device was lost in 2014 during a dive into the Kermadec Trench at a depth of 9,900 m.
Deepsea challenger
The last dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was made by the famous Canadian director James Cameron, having inscribed himself not only in the history of cinema, but also in the history of great research. It happened on March 26, 2012 in a single bathyscaphe Deepsea challenger built under the supervision of Australian engineer Ron Allun in collaboration with National Geographic and Rolex. The main objective of this dive was to collect documentary evidence of life at such extreme depths. From the soil samples taken, 68 new species of animals were discovered. The director himself said that the only animal that he saw at the bottom was an amphipod - an amphipod, similar to a small shrimp about 3 cm in length. The footage formed the basis of a documentary about his immersion in the Challenger Abyss.
James Cameron became the third person on Earth to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench. He set a diving speed record - his bathyscaphe reached a depth of 11 km. in less than two hours and was also the first person to reach this depth on a solo dive. He spent 6 hours at the bottom, which is also a record. Bathyscaphe Trieste was at the bottom for only 20 minutes.
Animal world
The first expedition of Trieste told with great surprise that there is life at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Although it was previously believed that the existence of life in such conditions is simply not possible. According to Jacques Piccard, they saw at the bottom a fish resembling an ordinary flounder, about 30 cm long, as well as amphipods. Many marine biologists are skeptical that Trier's crew actually saw the fish, but they do not so much question the words of the researchers as they are inclined to believe that they mistook the sea cucumber or other invertebrate for the fish.
During the second expedition, the Kaiko apparatus took soil samples and indeed there were many tiny organisms in it that could survive in absolute darkness at temperatures close to 0 ° C and under monstrous pressure. There was not a single skeptic left who questioned the existence of life everywhere in the ocean, even in the most incredible conditions. The truth remained unclear how much such deep-sea life was developed. Or are the only representatives of the Mariana Trench - the simplest microorganisms, crustaceans and invertebrates?
In December 2014, a new species of sea slugs was discovered - a family of deep sea fish. Cameras recorded them at a depth of 8,145 m, which was at that time an absolute record for fish.
In the same year, cameras recorded several more species of huge crustaceans, differing from their shallow-water congeners by deep-sea gigantism, which is generally inherent in many deep-sea species.
In May 2017, scientists announced the discovery of another new species of sea slugs, which were found at a depth of 8,178 m.
All deep-sea inhabitants of the Mariana Trench are almost blind, slow and unpretentious animals that can survive in the most extreme conditions. Popular stories about the sea, megalodon and other huge animals inhabiting the Challenger Abyss are nothing more than fables. The Mariana Trench is fraught with many secrets and mysteries, and new species of animals are no less interesting to scientists than relic animals known since the Paleozoic era. Having been at this depth for millions of years, evolution has made them completely different from shallow-water species.
Current research and future diving
Mariana Trench continues to attract the attention of scientists around the world, despite the high cost of research and their weak practical application. Ichthyologists are interested in new species of animals and their adaptive abilities. Geologists are interested in this region from the point of view of processes occurring in lithospheric plates and the formation of underwater mountain ranges. Ordinary explorers simply dream of being at the bottom of the deepest trench on our planet.
Several expeditions to the Mariana Trench are currently being planned:
1. American company Triton submarines designs and manufactures private submarine bathyscaphes. The newest model Triton 36000/3, consisting of a crew of 3, is planned to be sent to the Challenger Abyss in the near future. Its characteristics allow it to reach a depth of 11 km. in just 2 hours.
2. Company Virgin Oceanic(Virgin Oceanic), which specializes in private shallow diving, is developing a single-seater deep diving vehicle that can take a passenger to the bottom of a trough in 2.5 hours.
3. American company DOER Marine working on a project " Deep search"- one or two-seater bathyscaphe.
4.In 2017, the famous Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov announced that he plans to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
1. In 2009 was created Mariana Islands Marine National Monument... It does not include the islands themselves, but covers only their maritime territory, with an area of more than 245 thousand km². Almost the entire Mariana Trench was included in the monument, although its deepest point, the Challenger Abyss, did not fall into it.
2. At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, a water column exerts a pressure of 1,086 bar. This is a thousand times the standard atmospheric pressure.
3. Water is very poorly compressed and at the bottom of the gutter its density increases by only 5%. This means that 100 liters of ordinary water at a depth of 11 km. will take up a volume of 95 liters.
4. Although the Mariana Trench is considered the deepest point on the planet, it is not the closest point to the center of the Earth. Our planet is not an ideal spherical shape, and its radius is about 25 km. less at the poles than at the equator. Therefore, the deepest point at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean is 13 km. closer to the center of the Earth than the Challenger Abyss.
5. The Mariana Trench (and other deep-sea trenches) have been proposed to be used as cemeteries for nuclear waste. It is assumed that the movement of the plates will "push" the waste under the tectonic plate deep into the Earth. The proposal is not without logic, but the dumping of nuclear waste is prohibited by international law. In addition, the zones of joints of lithospheric plates give rise to earthquakes of enormous force, the consequences of which are unpredictable for buried waste.
What do we know about the deepest place in the World Ocean? This is the Mariana Trench or the Mariana Trench.
What is its depth? This is not an easy question ...
But definitely not 14 kilometers!
In the section, the Mariana Trench has a characteristic V-shaped profile with very steep slopes. The bottom is flat, several tens of kilometers wide, divided by ridges into several almost closed sections. The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is more than 1,100 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure, reaching 3,150 kg / cm2. Temperatures at the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) are surprisingly high thanks to the hydrothermal vents dubbed "black smokers". They constantly heat the water and keep the overall temperature in the trough at about 3 ° C.
The first attempt to measure the depth of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) was made in 1875 by the crew of the British oceanographic vessel "Challenger" during a scientific expedition to the World Ocean. The British discovered the Mariana Trench quite by accident, during a stand-by sounding of the bottom with a lot (Italian hemp rope and lead weight). For all the inaccuracy of such a measurement, the result was amazing: 8367 m. In 1877, a map was published in Germany, on which this place was marked as the Challenger Abyss.
The measurement, made in 1899 from the board of the American coal miner "Nero", already showed a great depth: 9636 m.
In 1951, the bottom of the depression was measured by the British survey vessel “Challenger”, named after its predecessor, informally called “Challenger II”. Now, with the help of the echo sounder, a depth of 10899 m was recorded.
The maximum depth indicator was obtained in 1957 by the Soviet research vessel "Vityaz": 11,034 ± 50 m. It is strange that no one remembered the anniversary date of the epoch-making discovery of Russian oceanologists. However, they say that when taking readings, the change in environmental conditions at different depths was not taken into account. This erroneous figure is still present on many physical and geographical maps published in the USSR and Russia.
In 1959, the American research vessel "Stranger" measured the depth of the trough in a rather unusual way for science - using depth charges. Result: 10915 m.
The last known measurements were made in 2010 by the American vessel Sumner, they showed a depth of 10994 ± 40 m.
It has not yet been possible to obtain absolutely accurate readings even with the most modern equipment. The operation of the echo sounder is hampered by the fact that the speed of sound in water depends on its properties, which manifest themselves differently depending on the depth.
This is how the most durable hulls of underwater vehicles look after tests at extreme pressure. Photo: Sergey Ptichkin / RG
And now it is reported that Russia has developed an autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of operating at a depth of 14 kilometers. Hence, it is concluded that our military oceanographers have found a depression in the World Ocean deeper than the Mariana.
The announcement that the device was created and passed its test compression at a pressure corresponding to a depth of 14,000 meters was made during an ordinary press trip of journalists to one of the leading scientific centers involved in deep-sea vehicles. It’s even strange that no one paid attention to this sensation and has not yet voiced it. And the developers themselves did not particularly become frank. Or maybe they just reinsure themselves and want to get reinforced concrete evidence? And now we have every reason to expect a new scientific sensation.
The decision was made to create an uninhabited deep-sea vehicle capable of withstanding pressure, which is much higher than that existing in the Mariana Trench. The device is ready for use. If the depth is confirmed, it will become a super sensation. If not, the device will work to the maximum in the same Mariana Trench, study it up and down. In addition, the developers claim that with a not very complicated revision, the AUV can be made habitable. And it will be comparable to manned deep space missions.
The existence of the Mariana Trench has been known for quite some time, and there are technical possibilities for descending to the bottom, but over the past 60 years, only three people have been able to do this: a scientist, a military man and a film director.
For the entire time of the study of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench), devices with people on board dropped to its bottom twice and automatic devices four times (as of April 2017). By the way, less than people have visited the moon.
On January 23, 1960, the Trieste bathyscaphe sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench). On board were the Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard (1922-2008) and the US Navy lieutenant, explorer Don Walsh (born 1931). The bathyscaphe was designed by the father of Jacques Picard, a physicist, inventor of the stratospheric balloon and bathyscaphe Auguste Piccard (1884-1962).
The black-and-white photograph half a century ago shows the legendary bathyscaphe "Trieste" at the time of preparation for the dive. The crew of two was in a spherical steel nacelle. It was attached to a float filled with gasoline to provide positive buoyancy.
The descent of "Trieste" lasted 4 hours 48 minutes, the crew periodically interrupted it. At a depth of 9 km, plexiglass glass cracked, but the descent continued until the Trieste sank to the bottom, where the crew saw a 30-centimeter flat fish and some crustacean creature. Having spent about 20 minutes at a depth of 10,912 m, the crew began the ascent, which took 3 hours 15 minutes.
Man made another attempt to descend to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) in 2012, when American filmmaker James Cameron (born 1954) became the third to reach the bottom of the Challenger Abyss. Previously, he repeatedly dived on Russian Mir spacecraft into the Atlantic Ocean to a depth of over 4 km during the filming of the movie Titanic. Now, on the Dipsy Challenger bathyscaphe, he sank into the abyss in 2 hours 37 minutes - almost a widow faster than the Trieste - and spent 2 hours 36 minutes at a depth of 10898 m. After that he rose to the surface in just an hour and a half. At the bottom, Cameron saw only creatures that looked like shrimps.
The fauna and flora of the Mariana Trench are poorly studied.
In the 1950s. Soviet scientists during the expedition of the ship "Vityaz" discovered life at depths of more than 7 thousand meters. Before that it was believed that there was nothing living there. Pogonophores were discovered - a new family of marine invertebrates living in chitinous tubes. Disputes about their scientific classification are still ongoing.
The main inhabitants of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench), living at the very bottom, are barophilic (developing only at high pressure) bacteria, the simplest creatures of the foraminifera - unicellular in shells and xenophiophores - amoebas, reaching 20 cm in diameter and living by shoveling silt.
Foraminifera managed to get the Japanese automatic deep-sea probe "Kaiko" in 1995, which sank to 10911.4 m and took soil samples.
Larger inhabitants of the trench live throughout its entire thickness. Deep life made them either blind or with highly developed eyes, often telescopic. Many have photophores - organs of luminescence, a kind of bait for prey: some have long processes, like an angler fish, while others have it right in the mouth. Some accumulate a luminous liquid and, in case of danger, douse the enemy with it in the manner of a "light curtain".
Since 2009, the territory of the depression has been part of the American Conservation Area Marine National Monument Mariana Trench with an area of 246,608 km2. The zone includes only the underwater part of the trough and the water area. The reason for this action was the fact that the Northern Mariana Islands and the island of Guam - in fact, American territory - are the island boundaries of the water area. The Challenger Abyss is not included in this zone, as it is located in the oceanic territory of the Federated States of Micronesia.
sources
There are 5 oceans on Earth, which occupy a significant part of the land. Having conquered space and having landed a man on the moon, having sent autonomous spacecraft to the most distant planets of the solar system, people know negligible little about what is hidden in the depths of the sea on their home planet.
What is the Mariana Trench?
This name is the deepest known place in the Pacific Ocean today. It is a trench formed by the convergence of tectonic plates. The maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is approximately 10,994 meters (data for 2011). There are other troughs in all other oceans, but not as deep. Only the Yavan (7729 meters) can be compared with the Mariana Trench.
Location
The deepest place on Earth is located in the west of the Pacific Ocean, near the Mariana Islands. The chute 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 trough got its name in honor of the islands next to which it is located.
"Challenger Abyss"
This name has the most deep place(10,994 meters) of the Mariana Trench. It should be clarified here that it is not yet possible to obtain the exact dimensions of this giant depression 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 with the echo sounder is always slightly different.
Discovery history
People have long known that there are deep-sea places in the seas and oceans. In 1875, the British corvette Challenger opened one of these points. What depth of the Mariana Trench was recorded then? She was 8367 meters. The instruments of measurement 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.
Chute studies
In the 19th century, it was simply impossible to explore the bottom of the Mariana Trench. At that time, there was no technology to go down to such depth. Without modern means of immersion, this was tantamount to suicide.
The re-examination of the gutter took place many years later, in the next century. Measurements made in 1951 showed a depth of 10,863 meters. Then, in 1957, members of the Soviet scientific ship "Vityaz" were engaged in the study of the depression. According to their measurements, the depth of the Mariana Trench was 11,023 meters.
The last study of the gutter was carried out in 2011.
Cameron's great journey
The Canadian director became the third person in the history of Mariana Trench exploration to descend to its bottom. He was the first in the world to do it alone. Prior to its sinking, the trench was explored by Don Walsh and Jacques Picard in 1960 using the Trieste submersible. In addition, Japanese scientists tried to find out what the depth of the Mariana Trench is using the Kaiko probe. And in 2009, the Nereus device descended to the bottom of the trough.
Descent to such incredible depths is 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 aircraft, resulting in the death of the pilot. Another serious danger that lies in wait when descending to depth is the cold reigning there. He is able not only to cause equipment malfunction, but also to kill a person. The bathyscaphe can collide with rocks and be damaged.
For many years James Cameron dreamed of visiting the deepest point of the Mariana Trench - the "Challenger Abyss". 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 Deepsea Challenger bathyscaphe, equipped with scientific equipment, as well as photo and video cameras. In it, Cameron sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This event happened on March 26, 2012.
In addition to photographs and video filming, the Deepsea Challenger bathyscaphe had to make new measurements of the chute and try to give 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 with what he saw below. Most of all, the bottom of the depression reminded him of a lifeless lunar landscape. He did not meet the terrible inhabitants of the abyss. The only creature he saw through the bathyscaphe window was a small shrimp.
After a successful voyage, 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.
Eerie Deep Dwellers
The lower the ocean floor, the less sunlight penetrates 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 hinder the origin of life. Darkness gives birth to beings who have never seen the sun. And they, in turn, only recently were able to see marine biologists.
The sight 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 - very little is known about the oceans and their inhabitants. The bottom of the Mariana Trench has been less explored to date than the surface of Mars. Therefore, for a long time it was believed that life is impossible at such a depth without sunlight. It turned out that this is not the case. The depth of the Mariana Trench, gigantic pressure and cold are not a hindrance to the emergence of amazing creatures living in complete darkness.
Most of them have an ugly appearance due to the terrible living conditions. The sheer darkness that reigns in the depths made the marine inhabitants of these places completely blind. Many fish have large teeth, such as the Hawliods, which swallow their prey whole.
What can living creatures eat so far from the surface of the ocean? Remains of living organisms accumulate at the bottom of the depression, 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 trough is inhabited by bacteria that can develop only at high pressure, unicellular organisms, jellyfish, worms, mollusks, sea cucumbers. The depth of the Mariana Trench gives them the ability to reach very large sizes. For example, amphipods found at the bottom of the trough are 17 centimeters long.
Amoeba
Xenophyophores (amoebas) are unicellular organisms that can only be viewed with a microscope. But at depth, these inhabitants of the Mariana Trench reach gigantic sizes - up to 10 centimeters. Previously, they were found at a depth of 7,500 meters. An interesting feature of these organisms, in addition to their size, is the ability to accumulate uranium, lead and mercury. Outwardly, deep-sea amoebas look different. Some are disc-shaped or tetrahedral. Xenophyophores feed on bottom sediments.
Hirondellea gigas
Large amphipods (amphipods) were found in the Mariana Trench. These deep-sea crayfish feed on dead organics that accumulate at the bottom of the cavity and have a keen sense of smell. The largest specimen found was 17 centimeters long.
Holothurians
Sea cucumbers are another representative of the 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. Nobody knows what creatures inhabit it and how many secrets it keeps.
The Mariana Trench (or the Mariana Trench) is the deepest place on the earth's surface. It is located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, 200 kilometers east of the Mariana Archipelago.
Paradoxically, but about the secrets of space or mountain peaks humanity knows much more than about the ocean depths. And one of the most mysterious and unexplored places on our planet is the Mariana Trench. So what do we know about him?
Mariana Trench - the bottom of the world
In 1875, the crew of the British corvette Challenger discovered a place in the Pacific Ocean where there was no bottom. Kilometer by kilometer the lot's rope went overboard, but there was no bottom! And only at a depth of 8184 meters the descent of the rope stopped. So the deepest underwater crack on Earth was opened. It was named the Mariana Trench after the nearby islands. Was determined its shape (in the form of a crescent) and the location of the deepest site, called the "Challenger Abyss". It is located 340 km south of the island of Guam and has coordinates 11 ° 22 ′ s. lat., 142 ° 35 ′ east etc. 
Since then, this deep-sea depression has been called the “fourth pole”, “the belly of Gaia”, “the bottom of the world”. Oceanographers have long tried to find out its true depth. Research over the years has given different meanings. The fact is that at such a colossal depth, the density of water increases as it approaches the bottom, therefore, the properties of sound from the echo sounder in it also change. Using together with echo sounders barometers and thermometers at different levels, in 2011 the depth value in the "Challenger Abyss" was set to 10994 ± 40 meters. This is the height of Mount Everest plus another two kilometers from above.
The pressure at the bottom of the underwater crevice is almost 1100 atmospheres, or 108.6 MPa. Most of the deep-sea vehicles are designed for a maximum depth of 6-7 thousand meters. During the time that has passed since the discovery of the deepest canyon, it was possible to successfully reach its bottom only four times. 
In 1960, the deep-sea bathyscaphe Trieste for the first time in the world descended to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Challenger Abyss with two passengers on board: US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard.
Their observations led to an important conclusion about the presence of life at the bottom of the canyon. The discovery of an upward flow of water also had an important ecological significance: based on it, the nuclear powers refused to dump radioactive waste at the bottom of the Mariana Gap. 
In the 90s, the Japanese unmanned probe "Kaiko" examined the gutter, which brought from the bottom samples of sludge, in which bacteria, worms, shrimps, as well as pictures of a hitherto unknown world were found.
In 2009, the American robot Nereus conquered the abyss, lifting samples of silt, minerals, samples of deep-sea fauna and photos of inhabitants of unknown depths from the bottom. 
In 2012, James Cameron, author of Titanic, Terminator and Avatar, dived into the abyss alone. He spent 6 hours at the bottom collecting samples of soil, minerals, fauna, as well as taking photographs and 3D video filming. Based on this material, the film "Challenge to the Abyss" was created.
Amazing discoveries
In the trench, at a depth of about 4 kilometers, there is active volcano Daikoku, spewing liquid sulfur, which boils at 187 ° C in a small depression. The only lake of liquid sulfur was discovered only on the moon of Jupiter - Io. 
In 2 kilometers from the surface "black smokers" swirl - sources of geothermal water with hydrogen sulphide and other substances, which, upon contact with cold water, turn into black sulphides. The movement of sulphide water resembles a plume of black smoke. The water temperature at the point of release reaches 450 ° C. The surrounding sea does not boil only because of the density of the water (150 times higher than at the surface). 
In the north of the canyon there are "white smokers" - geysers that spew liquid carbon dioxide at temperatures of 70-80 ° C. Scientists suggest that it is in such geothermal "boilers" that one should look for the origins of life on Earth. Hot springs "warm up" the icy waters, supporting life in the abyss - the temperature at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is in the range of 1-3 ° C. 
Life outside of life
It would seem that in an atmosphere of complete darkness, silence, icy coldness and unbearable pressure, life in the depression is simply unthinkable. But studies of the depression prove the opposite: there are living things almost 11 kilometers under the water! 
The bottom of the sinkhole is covered with a thick layer of mucus from organic sediments that have been descending from the upper layers of the ocean for hundreds of thousands of years. Mucus is an excellent breeding ground for barrophilic bacteria, which form the basis of nutrition for protozoa and multicellular organisms. Bacteria, in turn, become food for more complex organisms. 
The ecosystem of the underwater canyon is truly unique. Living things have managed to adapt to an aggressive, destructive environment under normal conditions, under high pressure, lack of light, a small amount of oxygen and a high concentration of toxic substances. Life in such unbearable conditions has given many of the inhabitants of the abyss a frightening and unattractive look. 
Deep-sea fish have an incredible mouth, seated with sharp long teeth. The high pressure made their bodies small (2 to 30 cm). However, there are also large specimens, such as the xenophyophore amoeba, reaching 10 cm in diameter. Frilled shark and goblin shark, living at a depth of 2000 meters, generally reach 5-6 meters in length. 
Representatives of different types of living organisms live at different depths. The deeper the inhabitants of the abyss, the better their visual organs are developed, allowing them to catch the slightest reflection of light on the body of prey in complete darkness. Some individuals themselves are capable of producing directional light. Other creatures are completely devoid of organs of vision, they are replaced by organs of touch and radar. With increasing depth, underwater inhabitants more and more lose their color, the bodies of many of them are almost transparent. 
On the slopes where the "black smokers" live, molluscs live, which have learned to neutralize sulfides and hydrogen sulfide, which are lethal for them. And, which still remains a mystery to scientists, in the conditions of tremendous pressure at the bottom, they somehow miraculously manage to keep their mineral shell intact. Other residents of the Mariana Trench show similar abilities. The study of fauna samples showed a multiple excess of the level of radiation and toxic substances. 
Unfortunately, deep sea creatures die due to pressure changes in any attempt to bring them to the surface. Only thanks to modern deep-sea vehicles has it become possible to study the inhabitants of the depression in their natural environment. Representatives of the fauna that are not known to science have already been identified. 
Secrets and mysteries of the "womb of Gaia"
A mysterious abyss, like any unknown phenomenon, is shrouded in a mass of secrets and mysteries. What does she hide in her depths? Japanese scientists claimed that while feeding goblin sharks, they saw a 25 meter long shark devouring goblins. A monster of this size could only be the megalodon shark, which became extinct almost 2 million years ago! This is confirmed by the finds of megalodon teeth in the vicinity of the Mariana Trench, which date back only 11 thousand years. It can be assumed that specimens of these monsters are still preserved in the depths of the hole. 
There are many stories about the corpses of giant monsters thrown ashore. While descending into the abyss of the German "Highfish" submersible, the dive stopped 7 km from the surface. To understand the reason, the passengers of the capsule turned on the lights and were horrified: their bathyscaphe, like a nut, was trying to gnaw at some prehistoric lizard! Only a pulse of electric current through the outer skin was able to scare off the monster.
Another time, when an American submersible was submerged, the grinding of metal began to be heard from under the water. The descent was stopped. When inspecting the lifted equipment, it turned out that the titanium alloy metal cable was half sawn (or gnawed), and the beams of the underwater vehicle were bent. 
In 2012, a video camera of the unmanned aerial vehicle "Titan" from a depth of 10 kilometers transmitted an image of objects made of metal, presumably a UFO. Soon the connection with the device was interrupted.
Unfortunately, there is no documentary evidence of these interesting facts, they are all based only on eyewitness accounts. Each story has its own fans and skeptics, its own arguments for and against. 
Before a risky dive into the trench, James Cameron said that he wanted to see with his own eyes at least part of the secrets of the Mariana Trench, about which there are so many rumors and legends. But he did not see anything that would go beyond the bounds of the knowable. 
So what do we know about her?
To understand how the Mariana Underwater Crevice was formed, it should be remembered that such crevices (troughs) are usually formed along the edges of the oceans under the influence of moving lithospheric plates. Oceanic plates, as older and heavier ones, "creep" under the continental ones, forming deep dips at the joints. The deepest is the junction of the Pacific and Filipino tectonic plates near the Mariana Islands (Mariana Trench). The Pacific plate moves at a speed of 3-4 centimeters per year, resulting in increased volcanic activity along both its edges. 
Along the entire length of this deepest depression, four so-called bridges - transverse mountain ranges - have been discovered. The ridges were formed presumably due to the movement of the lithosphere and volcanic activity. 
The groove is V-shaped across, widening strongly upward and tapering downward. The average width of the canyon in the upper part is 69 kilometers, in the widest part - up to 80 kilometers. The average width of the bottom between the walls is 5 kilometers. The slope of the walls is almost vertical and is only 7-8 °. The depression stretches from north to south for 2500 kilometers. The trench has an average depth of about 10,000 meters. 
To date, only three people have visited the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. In 2018, another manned dive is planned to the "bottom of the world" at its deepest section. This time, the famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov and the polar explorer Artur Chilingarov will try to conquer the depression and find out what it hides in its depths. At present, a deep-sea bathyscaphe is being manufactured and a research program is being drawn up.
Today we will talk about the deepest oceanic place on the planet - the Mariana Trench and its deepest point - the "Challenger Abyss".
“The Maryana Trench (or the Maryana Trench) is an oceanic deep-sea trench in the western Pacific Ocean, the deepest known on Earth. Named for the nearby Mariana Islands.
The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is the Challenger Deep. It is located in the southwestern part of the depression, 340 km southwest of the island of Guam (point coordinates: 11 ° 22 ′ N 142 ° 35 ′ E (G) (O)). According to measurements in 2011, its depth is 10,994 ± 40 m below sea level.
The deepest point of the depression, called the Challenger Deep, is farther from sea level than Mount Everest is above it. "
Even from school, many people know that the depth of the Mariana Trench is 11 km, and this is the deepest place on the planet. However, with a slight correction, it is the deepest known. That is, theoretically, there may be even deeper depressions ... but they are still unknown. Even the most high mountain in the world - Everest - will successfully fit into the gutter and there will still be a place.
The Mariana Trench is rich in records and titles: and it became famous not only for its depth, but also for its mysteriousness, terrible inhabitants of the underwater depths, "monsters" guarding the earth's bottom, secrets, unexploredness, primordiality, darkness, etc. In general - Space inside out is the bottom of the Mariana Trench. There are versions that life has become clogged in the Mariana Trench.
MARIANA TRENCH. PuzzlesMarianaDepressions:
The video shows and tells that at such a huge depth, the pressure is higher than from powder gases when fired from a hunting rifle, about 1100 times more than atmospheric pressure: 108.6 MPa (Mariana Trench - bottom) to 104 MPa (powder gases). Glass and wood turn into powder under such conditions.
Still, it is not clear then how there is life and the ominous underwater monsters, which are legendary?
The length of the trench along the Mariana Islands is 1.5 km.
“It has a V-shaped profile: steep (7-9 °) slopes, a flat bottom 1-5 km wide, which is divided by rapids into several closed depressions.
The depression is located at the junction of two tectonic plates, in the zone of movement along the faults, where the Pacific plate goes under the Philippine plate. "
The opening of the Mariana Trench took place in 1875:
“The first measurements (and discovery) of the Mariana Trench were carried out in 1875 from the British three-masted corvette Challenger. Then, with the help of a deep-sea lot, the depth was established at 8367 meters (with repeated measurements - 8184 m).
In 1951, an English expedition aboard the Challenger research vessel recorded a maximum depth of 10,863 meters using an echo sounder. "
Back in 1951, this point was given the name Challenger Abyss.
Later, during several expeditions, the depth of the Mariana Trench was found to be more than 11 km, the last measurement (end of 2011) recorded a depth of 10 994 m (+/- 40 m):
“According to the results of measurements carried out in 1957 during the 25th voyage of the Soviet research vessel Vityaz (headed by Aleksey Dmitrievich Dobrovolsky), the maximum depth of the trough was 11,023 m (revised data, the depth was originally reported as 11,034 m).
On January 23, 1960, Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard dived in the Trieste submersible. They recorded a depth of 10,916 m, which has also come to be referred to as "the depth of Trieste."
The unmanned Japanese submarine "Kaiko" in March 1995 collected soil samples in this place and recorded a depth of 10,911 m.
On May 31, 2009, an unmanned submarine Nereus took soil samples at the site. The collected silt is mostly composed of foraminifera. During this dive, a depth of 10,902 m was recorded.
More than two years later, on December 7, 2011, researchers at the University of New Hampshire published the results of a submerged robot that recorded a depth of 10,994 m (+/- 40 m) using sound waves. "
And yet, despite many obstacles, difficulties, dangers - three people in the entire history of the existence of the Mariana Trench managed to reach the bottom, naturally, being in special devices. On March 26, 2012, director James Cameron rode the Deepsea Challenger single-handedly to the bottom of the Abyss.
The plot of the First channel "James Cameron - diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench":
And here is Jace Cameron's film "Challenge to the Abyss 3D | Journey to the Bottom of the Mariana Trench":
The film was produced in collaboration with National Geographic and is in documentary format. Before some of his box office creations (like "Titanic"), the director also sank to the bottom of the depths to the place of events, so before his "visit" to the Mariana Trench in 2012, many were waiting for either a grandiose masterpiece, or a video with monsters living in the darkness of the ocean. ...
The film is documentary, but the main thing is that Cameron did not see giant octopuses, monsters, "leviathans", multi-headed creatures there, although the first time he spent more than three hours at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. There were small marine derivatives of no more than 2.5 cm ... but those very outlandish flat fish, huge creatures that bite into a steel cable, were not there .. although he was not there for 12 minutes.
To the questions about whether the director saw any terrible creature at the bottom of the depression, he answered: “Probably everyone would like to hear that I saw some sea monster, but he was not there ... There was nothing alive, more than 2- 2.5 cm ".
Public reaction to Cameron's "Abyss" film has been mixed. Someone saw the picture as boring and incomparable with his works like Titanic, Avatar, someone said that the film is real and in its “boringness” shows the way of interaction of one of the seven billion people on the planet and the deepest abyss.
From reviews for the film:
“Of course, the content of the film can hardly be called exciting. Most of the time the viewer spends in endless boring meetings and tests in the laboratory. But I believe that this hard and long path from a dream to its realization must have been shown. It is he who most of all inspires to work for the sake of his idea. "
I mentioned the film precisely because the path that led the director to the creation of creation is the basis for the interaction of the secrets of nature and mortal man.
People are frightened and attracted by the unknown, rebelliousness, depth, danger, mortality, mystery, eternity, loneliness, independence of depths, distant, heights of nature. And the title of the film - "Challenge to the Abyss ..." - of course, for a reason: at a certain stage of development of potential, a person either wants to touch the unknown, or even forget about its existence, to live routine.
Cameron, having the ability and zeal, decided to make this leap into the depths. This is the desire to rise to a step close to God, and pride, and perpetuate this abyss in oneself and perpetuate oneself in the abyss, understanding the frailty of matter and much more.
Many people drop in, some are out of curiosity, some are out of nothing to do. But only a few will risk getting close.
Let us recall the famous saying of F. Nietzsche: “If you peer into the abyss for a long time, the abyss will begin to peer into you,” or another translation: “For a person who has been looking into the abyss for a long time, the abyss begins to live in the eyes”, or the full text of the quote: “Who fights with monsters, he should beware lest he become a monster himself. And if you look into the abyss for a long time, then the abyss also looks into you. " Here we are talking about the dark sides of the soul and the world, if you attract evil - evil will attract you, although there are many interpretation options.
But the very words “abyss”, “abyss” mean something dangerous, dark, akin to the source of dark forces. Around the Mariana Trench there are a lot of legends, far from good legends, who just did not invent anything: both monsters live there, and monsters of unclear etiology can swallow deep-sea research vehicles with and without people alive, gnaw through 20-centimeter cables, and terrible devilish creatures seem to in hell they scurry among the black waves of the deep, terrify extremely rare human guests, and in circles discussing the deepest gutter, versions are expressed that people who could breathe under water used to live here, and almost life was born here, etc. People want to see darkness in this abyss. And, in general, they see her ...
Before Cameron conquered the Mariana Abyss, this was done in 1960:
“On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh dived into the Mariana Trench to a depth of 10,920 meters on the Trieste submersible. The dive took about 5 hours, and the time spent at the bottom was 12 minutes. It was an absolute depth record for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Two researchers then discovered at a terrible depth only 6 species of living creatures, including flat fish up to 30 cm in size. "
The monsters were scared of James Cameron, or they were not in the mood to pose in front of the camera that day, or there really was no one there - it will remain a mystery, however, during previous underwater expeditions, including without the participation of people, various forms of life, fish, hitherto never seen, strange creatures, creatures that look like monsters, giant octopuses. But let's not forget that "monsters" are all unexplored creatures.
Several times into the depths of the Mariana Trench, vehicles without people (with people only twice), for example, on May 31, 2009, an automatic underwater vehicle Nereus plunged into the bottom of the Mariana Trench. According to measurements, it sank 10,902 meters below sea level. At the bottom, Nereus filmed a video, took some photos and even collected sediment samples at the bottom.
Here are some photos of those who were met at the depths of the Mariana Trench by the expedition cameras:
In the photo, the bottom of the Mariana Trench:
“The Mystery of the Mariana Trench. Great secrets of the ocean. " Ren-TV program.
Still, a big secret remains that there, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench ... We are frightened in absentia by monsters, but in fact no one, in particular Cameron, who spent 3 hours at the bottom of the trench, found strange objects there ... silence ... depth ... eternity.
And the most important questions - "how can monsters live there if there is tremendous pressure at the bottom, there is no light, oxygen ??". The answer of scientific experts:
“The inexplicable and incomprehensible has always attracted people, so scientists around the world are so eager to answer the question:“ What is hidden in the depths of the Mariana Trench? ”
Can living organisms live at such a huge depth, and how should they look, given that huge masses of oceanic waters press on them, the pressure of which exceeds 1100 atmospheres?
The difficulties associated with the study and comprehension of creatures that live in these unimaginable depths are enough, but human ingenuity knows no boundaries. For a long time, oceanologists considered it madness to hypothesize that at depths of more than 6,000 meters in impenetrable darkness, under monstrous pressure and at temperatures close to zero, life could exist.
However, the results of research by scientists in the Pacific Ocean showed that in these depths, well below the 6,000-meter mark, there are huge colonies of living organisms pogonophora ((rogonophora; from the Greek pogon - beard and phoros - carrying), a type of marine invertebrates living in long chitinous tubes open at both ends).
Recently, the veil of secrecy has been lifted by manned and automatic, made of heavy-duty materials, underwater vehicles equipped with video cameras. The result was the discovery of a rich animal community, made up of both well-known and less familiar marine groups.
Thus, at depths of 6000 - 11000 km, the following were found:
- barophilic bacteria (developing only at high pressure);
- of the protozoa - foraminifera (a detachment of protozoa of the subclass of rhizopods with a cytoplasmic body, dressed with a shell) and xenophyophores (barophilic bacteria from protozoa);
- from multicellular organisms - polychaete worms, isopods, amphipods, holothurians, bivalves and gastropods.
At the depths there is no sunlight, no algae, constant salinity, low temperatures, abundance of carbon dioxide, enormous hydrostatic pressure (increases by 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters).
What do the inhabitants of the abyss eat?
The food sources of deep-seated animals are bacteria, as well as rain of "corpses" and organic detritus coming from above; deep animals are either blind or with highly developed eyes, often telescopic; many fish and cephalopods with photofluoroids; in other forms, the surface of the body or parts of it glows.
Therefore, the appearance of these animals is as terrible and incredible as the conditions in which they live. Among them - a frightening-looking worms 1.5 meters long, without a mouth and anus, mutant octopuses, extraordinary starfish and some soft-bodied creatures two meters long, which have not yet been identified at all.
Despite the fact that scientists have taken a huge step in the study of the Mariana Trench, the questions have not diminished, new mysteries have emerged that have yet to be solved. And the ocean abyss knows how to keep its secrets. Will people be able to reveal them in the near future? "
The Mariana Trench, given that this is the most famous deep point on the planet, has been studied too little, people have flown into Space dozens of times more, and we know more about Space than about the bottom of an 11-kilometer trench. Probably everything is ahead ...
