Mariana Trench. The Mariana Trench - what is it, where is it located, who lives in its waters? Are there Mariana Caves
There is a place on Earth about which we know much less than about deep space - mysterious ocean floor. It is believed that world science has not really even begun to study it.
On March 26, 2012, 50 years after the first dive, a man again sank to the bottom of the deepest trench on Earth: the Deepsea Challenge bathyscaphe with Canadian director James Cameron sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Cameron became the third person to reach the deepest point in the ocean and the first to do it alone.
Mariana Trench- the deepest trench on earth in the west Pacific Ocean. He stretched along Mariana Islands at 2,500 km. The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is called "Challenger Abyss". According to the latest research in 2011, its depth is 10,994 meters (±40 m) below sea level. By the way, speaking highest peak world - Everest rises to a height of "only" 8,848 meters.
At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the water pressure reaches 1,072 atmospheres, i.e. 1072 times the normal atmospheric pressure. (Infographics ria.ru):
Half a century ago. Bathyscaphe "Trieste", designed by the Swiss scientist Auguste Picard, on which a record dive into the Mariana Trench was made in 1960:
On January 23, 1960, Jacques Picard and US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh made a dive into the Mariana Trench to a depth of 10,920 meters on the Trieste bathyscaphe. 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 vehicles.
Two researchers then discovered at a terrible depth only 6 species of living creatures, including flat fish up to 30 cm in size:
Let's go back to our days. This is the Deepsea Challenge Deep Sea Bathyscaphe, on which James Cameron sank to the bottom of the ocean. It was developed in an Australian laboratory, weighs 11 tons and has a length of more than 7 meters:
The dive began on March 26 at 05:15 am local time. James Cameron's last words were: "Lower, lower, lower."
When diving to the bottom of the ocean, the bathyscaphe turns over and falls vertically down:
This is a real vertical torpedo that glides through a huge column of water at high speed:
The compartment in which Cameron was during the dive is a metal sphere with a diameter of 109 cm with thick walls that can withstand pressures of more than 1,000 atmospheres:
In the photo, to the left of the director, you can see a hatch covering the sphere:
HD video. Dive:
James Cameron spent more than 3 hours at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, during which he took photos and videos underwater world. The result of this underwater journey will be a joint film with National Geographic. The photo shows manipulators with cameras:
At a depth of 11 kilometers:
3D camera:
However, the underwater expedition was not entirely successful. Due to malfunction metal "hands", controlled by hydraulics, James Cameron was unable to take samples from the ocean floor that scientists need to study geology:
Many were tormented by the question of animals that live at such a monstrous depth. “Probably everyone would like to hear that I saw some kind of sea monster, but it was not there ... There was nothing alive, more than 2-2.5 cm.”
A few hours after the dive, the Deepsea Challenge bathyscaphe with the 57-year-old director successfully returned from the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
The rise of the bathyscaphe:
James Cameron - the first person in the world to make a solo dive into the abyss- to the bottom of Mariana. In the coming weeks, it will sink to a depth of 4 more times.
Who was the first to descend to the deepest point in the world. (Marian Trench)
The Mariana Trench is the deepest known geographic feature in the Pacific Ocean. Depth up to 11022 meters; located east and south of the Mariana Islands at 11 ° 21 "0" N. 142°12"0" East
The most mysterious and inaccessible point of our planet - the Mariana Trench - is called the "fourth pole of the Earth."
This "womb of Gaia" is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and extends 2926 km long and 80 km wide. At a distance of 320 km south of the island of Guam (Marian archipelago) is the deepest point of the Mariana Trench and the entire planet - 11,022 meters.
US Navy officer Don Walsh and Swiss explorer Jacques Picard - dared to challenge the abyss. Bathyscaphe "Trieste" was designed by the Swiss scientist Auguste Picard, taking into account his previous development, the world's first bathyscaphe FNRS-2. 
On January 23, 1960, Jacques Picard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh dived to a depth of 11,022 m, which is an absolute depth record for manned and unmanned vehicles. 
The dive took about 5 hours, the rise - about 3 hours, the time spent at the bottom was 12 minutes. One of the most important scientific results of the dive was the discovery of highly organized life at such depths.
During this expedition, one of the hypotheses about non-movement of water layers at great depths was refuted. Two fish were observed from the bathyscaphe at the maximum depth. This testified to the existence of underwater currents in the vertical direction: after all, living beings need oxygen brought by the current from the surface. This conclusion warned scientists against the idea of using the depths of the ocean for the disposal of waste from the nuclear industry.
When the bathyscaphe "Trieste" sank to the bottom of the depression, it stopped three times, meeting some invisible obstacle. As you know, gasoline plays the same role in a bathyscaphe as hydrogen or helium in an airship. To continue the submersion of the bathyscaphe, it was necessary to release a certain amount of gasoline, this made the apparatus heavier. 
An obstacle on the way was a sharp increase in the density of water. In the ocean, with depth, as a rule, the temperature decreases and the salinity of water increases, as a result of which its density increases. At some depths, these changes occur abruptly. The layer in which there is a sharp change in temperature and density of water is called the "jump layer". There are usually one or two such layers in the ocean. Trieste found another third.
The two brave men were the only people in the world who approached the center of the planet as close as possible - only 6366 kilometers remained before it. This record has never been broken. 
I would like to note that the Piccard family are record holders - the grandfather conquered the height, the father - the depth, but the grandson flew around the Earth. 
The relief of the earth's surface is very diverse. From space it looks like a smooth ball, but in fact, on its surface there are both the highest mountains and the deepest depressions. Where is the most deep place on earth in ocean or land?
In contact with
The World Ocean is a huge expanse of water that occupies more than 71% of the Earth's surface. It includes all the seas and our planet. The relief of the ocean floor complex and varied, its waters are the habitat of millions of living organisms.
Most deep ocean in the world - Quiet. The map shows that it occupies a huge area and borders on Asia, North and South America, Australia, Antarctica. More than 49.5% of the total water space of the Earth contains the Pacific Ocean itself. Its bottom is a mixture of relict relief with transgressive plains. Most of the ocean floor elevations are of tectonic origin. There are hundreds of natural underwater canyons and ridges. The deepest trench in the world is located in the Pacific Ocean. Mariana Trench.
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench (or the Mariana Trench) is a deep oceanic trench, considered deepest known on earth. It received its name in honor of the Mariana Islands, in the neighborhood of which it is located. This is the deepest and most mysterious place in the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists have been studying the Mariana Trench since the late 19th century. This is the deepest trench recorded by researchers.
Then they did not have good equipment at their disposal, so the data that was obtained is not true. In 1875, a deep water lot set the depth. This is the most low point Earth.
During the same period, the deepest place on Earth began to be called the "Challenger Abyss" on behalf of the British ship on which the explorers sailed. Secondarily, the Mariana Trench was measured in 1951.
In the middle of the last century, scientists managed to study the depression more and establish its depth at 10,863 m. In the future, many research ships visited the Challenger Deep. The most accurate results were obtained in 1957. Then the depth of the depression was 11,023 m.
Important! Now the depth of the Mariana Trench is 10,994 meters below sea level, this is the deepest place in the ocean known today.
Inhabitants of the ocean floor
Even at present, the bottom of the Pacific Ocean has not been fully studied, because it is the deepest ocean in the world. Many places in the Mariana Trench remain unexplored, because at such a great depth too high pressure. But, despite all the difficulties, people managed to descend to the depth of the depression. The first dive into the deepest trench happened in 1960. Scientist Jacques Picard and US Navy soldier Don Walsh descended to a record depth of 10,918 meters. During the dive, people were inside the bathyscaphe. Scientists said that they saw at the bottom of the ocean flat 30-centimeter fish, outwardly similar to a flounder.
During further research, other living organisms were discovered:
- In 1995, Japanese researchers found foraminifera - living organisms that live at a depth of 10,911 m.
- During a series of dives by American scientists, fish of the opisthoproct family were found, football fish and frilled shark.
- In the course of numerous studies, the bottom of the Mariana Trench was studied by special probes, which were photographed at a depth of 6000–8000 m of angler, sea devil and other terrifying fish.
There are legends that huge 25-meter sharks are found in the Mariana Trench. Scientists even found trophies - bones, shark teeth and other fossils. But this does not indicate that sharks still live there now. Perhaps they were here far in antiquity.
The deepest places in the world's oceans
Each of the four oceans has its own deep place. The lowest point is in the Pacific Ocean, but what about other trenches and depressions?
Puerto Rico Trench
The Puerto Rico Ocean Trench is located at the junction caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. The absolute depth of the trench reaches 8385 m. This area, due to the structure of the relief, is often subject to tremors and high volcanic activity. Nearby islands suffer from constant tsunamis and earthquakes.
Java depression
Java Depression (or Sunda Trench) - the deepest place indian ocean. Gutter stretches for 4-5 thousand kilometers, and the lowest point reaches 7729 m. The name of the depression was due to the proximity to the island of Java. The bottom of the trench is an alternation of plains and canyons with ridges and ledges.
Greenland Sea
Part of the Northern Arctic Ocean which is on crossing Iceland with Greenland and Jan Mayen Island is called the Greenland Sea.
Sea area - 1.2 million square meters. km. The average depth of the body of water is 1444 m, and the deepest point is 5527 m below sea level. Most of the relief of the seabed is a huge basin with underwater ridges.
This is deepest trench in Europe. There is a lot of commercial fish here, which is caught by fishermen of nearby islands.
Inland basins of Russia
Deep depressions are located not only in the waters of the oceans. A striking example of this is the Baikal Rift, located in. The lake itself is considered the deepest on Earth, so it is not surprising that the lowest inland place is located here. Lake Baikal is surrounded by mountains, so the elevation differences between ocean level and the rift exceeds the mark of 3615 m.
Important! The depression reaches 1637 m in depth and is the largest depth of Lake Baikal.
Depression of Lake Ladoga. Ladoga lake located in the Republic of Karelia. He is considered the largest freshwater lake on the territory of Europe. The average depth of the lake ranges from 70-220 m, but it reaches its absolute maximum in one place - 223 m below sea level.
Caspian Sea. Caspian lake located on the border of Europe and Asia. It is the largest enclosed body of water on earth, which is why it is often referred to as the Caspian Sea.
On the Russian side, the reservoir borders on the Volga islands and, but most of the Caspian Sea is located on the territory of Kazakhstan. Max Depth lake is 1025 m below sea level.
Khanty lake. Occupies third place among the deepest places in Russia. The maximum depth here reaches 420 m. The reservoir is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. There is not much data about this place, but this is enough to make Khantai Lake one of the deepest places in Russia.
inland depressions
Our Earth is rich in relief. You can see many high mountains, thousands of endless plains and hundreds of depressions. Below is a list of the deepest places recorded worldwide:
- Jordanian rift valley(Ghor) - located at the intersection of Syria, Jordan and Israel. The deepest place is 804 m.
- The depression of Lake Tanganyika is located in Central Africa and is longest freshwater lake in the world. The deepest place is 696 m.
- The Great Slave Lake Depression is located in Canada. The lowest point is 614 m. This is the deepest trench in North America.
- Great Bear Lake Depression - also located in Canada and is rich uranium deposits. The deepest place is 288 m.
Science's view of the deepest places
Dive to the bottom of the earth with Cameron
Conclusion
In fact, there are dozens of deep places in the world. Many of them can be found at the bottom of reservoirs, others - in the Earth itself. This topic is quite interesting, and scientists are studying such places. Now you know where the deepest place on Earth is located, in which ocean situated deepest depression and what interesting places world are studied by experts.
It would seem that by the twenty-first century, humanity knows everything about our planet and there are no white spots left on the maps. But do not forget that about 90% of the ocean floor is still covered not only by the water column, but also by mystery. So far, there are more questions than answers in this area. This is because only a few daredevils dared to dive in these places. It is considered to be akin to suicide.
Harsh conditions
The Mariana Trench is a tectonic underwater fault and has a V-shaped silhouette, with steep slopes and a flat bottom about 5 km wide. At a depth there are also peculiar seamounts about two kilometers high. The deepest point on the planet, reaching 11 thousand meters, is located here and is called the Challenger Abyss. Even the highest peak of our planet - Mount Everest, would be drowned under the water column in the Mariana Trench.
The pressure at this depth is more than a thousand times higher than Earth's normal atmospheric pressure. Just imagine, a whole ton of weight falls on one square centimeter of surface. Such loads can hardly withstand titanium alloys. If a person were here, he would be torn to pieces in the same second. It is curious that the water temperature at such a depth is about 4 degrees with a plus sign. All thanks to oceanic hydrothermal sources "black smokers", which are closer to the surface of the ocean overthrow 450 degree jets.
The colossal pressure does not allow water to boil and the environment is only slightly warmed up. And the one-of-a-kind deep-sea “White Smokers” produce liquid carbon dioxide in the Mariana Trench, plunging everything around into a white fog. Such hydrothermal springs enrich the aquatic environment with chemical trace elements and, according to scientists, create good conditions for the emergence of new life forms.
Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench
The big discovery was the fact that at a depth of more than 6000 m, with incredible pressure, no sunlight and zero temperatures, life is in full swing. Various types of bacteria and protozoa, sea cucumbers and amphipods, mollusk shells and luminous octopuses, bizarre starfish, blind giant worms and flat fish with periscopic eyes live on the bottom.
New species of scorpions and anglers have been discovered. A feature of these frightening outwardly fish is the presence of bioluminescent luminous processes that hang down like a fishing rod. Seeing a light in pitch darkness, the prey swims into the light and find themselves in the toothy mouth of a predator. The attention of physicians was especially attracted by one of the types of isopod crayfish, because. the substance it secretes could help develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease.
Most of all, the public was shocked by the huge xenophyophore amoeba. Their size in the Mariana Trench reaches 10 cm, while all previously known types of protozoa can hardly be seen through a microscope. A unique feature of xenophyophores is that they are resistant to such potent and destructive substances for all living things as mercury, uranium, and lead.
inexplicable
In the mid-nineties, newspapers were full of headlines about a certain monster hiding at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The story went that the research vessel Glomar Challenger, plunging a device into the abyss to study the ocean depths, encountered difficulties. At some point, the sensors recorded a terrible noise and rattle. I had to urgently remove the device from the water. It turned out to be badly damaged, the iron case of the device was badly mangled, and the reliable metal cable almost broke off, as if someone wanted to bite it.
A similar incident happened to a group of German scientists, when a huge lizard attacked the Hayfish probe lowered into the water, according to the team. It was possible to get rid of which only by intimidating with an electric charge.
There is no convincing evidence that giant prehistoric animals are found in the Mariana Trench today. However, the opposite has not been proven either.
In the 20s of the last century, fishermen from Australia said that they saw a huge white shark about 30 m long in these parts. While individuals of this species known to science do not exceed five meters. The description of the Australians fully converged only with the external characteristics of Megalodon (scientific name Carcharodon megalodon). This animal weighed 100 tons and its mouth could swallow prey the size of a car. According to conventional wisdom, Megalodons became extinct about 2 million years ago. But just recently, a tooth of this monster was discovered in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in the Mariana Trench. The examination determined that this find is no more than 11 thousand years old. What else hides the seabed?
Journey to the center of the earth
Everything that we now know about the Mariana Trench was obtained thanks to brave explorers who were not afraid of unknown depths. Since 1872, more than a dozen expeditions have been sent to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. In most cases, research was carried out with the help of technologies that are improving every year. Various equipment with sensors and probes with video and cameras were immersed to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
The researchers from the Challenger ship were the first to study the ocean abyss. In honor of this vessel, the deepest point of the planet in the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Abyss, was named.
The first who personally visited at a depth of eleven thousand meters were the Swiss oceanologist Jacques Piccard and the American military Don Walsh. In 1960, they plunged into the Mariana Trench in a deep-sea vessel. Only 127 mm separated them from kilometers of frightening uncertainty. armored steel.
Only our contemporary, the famous director James Cameron, the creator of the films “Titanic” and “Avatar”, decided to repeat their feat. In 2012, he made this dive alone in the DeepSea Challenge submersible. Taking soil and water samples from the bottom of the Mariana Trench, Cameron helped scientists do a lot important discoveries. However, he saw a silent silence. He met neither monsters nor strange phenomena. James compares his adventure to flying into space - "complete isolation from all mankind."
Many people know that the most high point- this is Everest (8848 m). If you are asked where is the deepest point of the ocean, what will you answer? Mariana Trench- this is the place we want to tell you about.
But first I want to note that they never cease to amaze us with their riddles. The described place is also still not properly studied for quite objective reasons.
So we offer you Interesting Facts about the Mariana Trench or, as it is also called, the Mariana Trench. Below are valuable photographs of the mysterious inhabitants of this abyss.
It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. This is the deepest place in the world, of all known today.
Having a V-shape, the depression runs along the Mariana Islands for 1500 km.
Mariana Trench on the map
An interesting fact is that the Mariana Trench is located at the junction: the Pacific and the Philippine.
The pressure at the bottom of the trough reaches 108.6 MPa, which is almost 1072 higher than the normal pressure.
Probably, now you understand that because of such conditions, it is extremely difficult to explore the mysterious bottom of the world, as this place is also called. Nevertheless, the scientific community, starting from the end of the 19th century, has not ceased to study this mystery of nature step by step.
Exploration of the Mariana Trench
In 1875, an attempt was made for the first time to globally explore the Mariana Trench. The English expedition "Challenger" carried out measurements and analysis of the trough. It was this group of scientists who set the initial mark at 8184 meters.
Of course, this was not the full depth, since the capabilities of that time were much more modest than today's measuring systems.
Soviet scientists also made a huge contribution to research. An expedition led by the Vityaz research vessel in 1957 began its own studies and found that there is life at a depth of more than 7,000 meters.
Until that time, there was a strong belief that at such a depth life is simply impossible.
We invite you to see a curious image of the Mariana Trench on a scale:
Diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench
1960 was one of the most fruitful years in terms of the study of the Mariana Trench. The Trieste research bathyscaphe made a record dive to a depth of 10,915 meters.
This is where something mysterious and inexplicable began. Special devices that record underwater sound began to transmit terrible noises to the surface, reminiscent of the grinding of a saw on metal.
The monitors registered mystical shadows, which in shape resembled fairy-tale dragons with several heads. For an hour, scientists tried to capture as much data as possible, but then the situation began to get out of hand.
It was decided to immediately raise the bathyscaphe to the surface, since there were reasonable fears that if you wait a little longer, the bathyscaphe will forever remain in the mysterious abyss of the Mariana Trench.
For more than 8 hours, specialists have been extracting unique equipment made of heavy-duty materials from the bottom.
Of course, all the instruments, and the bathyscaphe itself, were carefully placed on a special platform for studying the surface.
What was the surprise of scientists when it turned out that almost all the elements of the unique apparatus, made of the most durable metals at that time, were severely deformed and mangled.
The cable, 20 cm in diameter, lowering the bathyscaphe to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, was half sawn. Who and why tried to cut it remains a mystery to this day.
An interesting fact is that only in 1996 the American newspaper The New York Times published the details of this unique study.
lizard from the Mariana Trench
The German expedition "Highfish" also encountered the inexplicable mysteries of the Mariana Trench. While plunging the research apparatus to the bottom, scientists encountered unexpected difficulties.
Being at a depth of 7 kilometers under water, they decided to raise the equipment.
But the technology refused to obey. Then special infrared cameras were turned on to find out the cause of the failures. However, what they saw on the monitors plunged them into indescribable horror.
On the screen, a fantastic lizard of gigantic proportions was clearly visible, which was trying to gnaw through the bathyscaphe, like a squirrel nut.
Being in a state of shock, the hydronauts activated the so-called electric gun. Having received a powerful discharge of current, the lizard disappeared into the abyss.
What was it, fantasy of the possessed research work scientists, mass hypnosis, delirium of people tired of colossal stress, or just someone's joke - is still unknown.
The deepest place in the Mariana Trench
On December 7, 2011, researchers at the University of New Hampshire submerged a unique robot to the bottom of a research trough.
Thanks to modern equipment managed to register a depth equal to 10,994 m (+/- 40 m). This place was named after the first expedition (1875), which we wrote about above: “ Challenger Abyss».
Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench
Of course, after these inexplicable and even mystical secrets, logical questions began to arise: what monsters live at the bottom of the Mariana Trench? After all, for a long time it was believed that below 6000 meters the existence of living beings is in principle impossible.
However, later studies of the Pacific Ocean in general, and the Mariana Trench in particular, confirmed the fact that at a much greater depth, in impenetrable darkness, under monstrous pressure and water temperature close to 0 degrees, lives great amount unseen beings.
Undoubtedly, without modern technology, made of the most durable materials and equipped with cameras that are unique in their properties, such a study would be simply impossible.
Half-meter mutant octopus 
One and a half meter monster 
As a summary, we can confidently say that at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, between 6,000 and 11,000 meters under water, the following were reliably found: worms (up to 1.5 meters in size), crayfish, a variety of bacteria, amphipods, gastropods, mutant octopuses, mysterious sea stars, unidentified soft-bodied creatures of two meters in size, etc.
These inhabitants feed mainly on bacteria and the so-called "corpse rain", that is, dead organisms that slowly sink to the bottom.
Hardly anyone doubts that the Mariana Trench stores many more. However, people do not leave attempts to explore this unique place on the planet.
Thus, the only people who dared to dive to the "bottom of the earth" were the American marine specialist Don Walsh and the Swiss scientist Jacques Picard. On the same Trieste bathyscaphe, they reached the bottom on January 23, 1960, sinking to a depth of 10,915 meters.
However, on March 26, 2012, James Cameron, an American director, made a solo dive to the bottom of the deep point World Ocean. Bathyscaphe collected all the necessary samples and made a valuable photo and video shooting. Thus, we now know that only three people have been in the Challenger Abyss.
Did they manage to answer at least half of the questions? Of course not, since the Mariana Trench still hides much more mysterious and inexplicable things.
By the way, James Cameron stated that after diving to the bottom, he felt completely cut off from the world of people. Moreover, he assured that there are simply no monsters at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
But here we can recall a primitive Soviet statement, after a flight into space: "Gagarin flew into space - he did not see God." This led to the conclusion that there is no God.
Similarly, here, we cannot unequivocally say that the giant lizard and other creatures that scientists saw in the course of previous studies were the result of someone's sick fantasy.
It is important to understand that the geographic object under study has a length of more than 1000 kilometers. Therefore, potential monsters, the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench, could well be located many hundreds of kilometers from the place of study.
However, these are just hypotheses.
Panorama of the Mariana Trench on Yandex Map
Another interesting fact may intrigue you. On April 1, 2012, Yandex published a comic panorama of the Mariana Trench. On it you can see a sunken ship, water plumes and even the glowing eyes of a mysterious underwater monster.
Despite the humorous idea, this panorama is tied to a real place and is still available to users.
To view it, copy this code into the address bar of your browser:
https://yandex.ua/maps/-/CZX6401a
The abyss knows how to keep its secrets, and our civilization has not yet reached such a development as to “crack” natural mysteries. However, who knows, maybe one of the readers of this article in the future will become the very genius who will be able to solve this problem?
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