The deepest or deepest. The deepest lake in the world

Despite the fact that the oceans are closer to us than the outer planets of the solar system, people explored only five percent of the ocean floor, which remains one of the greatest mysteries of our planet.

Here are other interesting facts about what you can meet along the way and at the very bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Temperature at the bottom of the Mariana Trench

1. Very hot water

Going down to such a depth, we expect that it will be very cold there. The temperature here reaches just above zero, varying 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 temperature of the water, which is hundreds of degrees above the boiling point, she does not boil here due to incredible pressure, 155 times higher than on the surface.

Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench

2. Giant toxic amoeba

A few years ago, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, they discovered giant 10-centimeter amoebas, called xenophyophores.

These single-celled organisms probably got so big because of the environment they live in at a depth of 10.6 km. The cold temperature, high pressure, and lack of sunlight most likely contributed to these amoeba got huge.

In addition, xenophyophores have incredible abilities. They are resistant to many elements and chemicals, including uranium, mercury and lead,which would kill other animals and people.

3. Clams

The strong water pressure in the Mariana Trench does not give any animal with a shell or bones a chance to survive. However, in 2012, shellfish were discovered in a trough near serpentine hydrothermal vents. Serpentine contains hydrogen and methane, which allows living organisms to form.

TO How did mollusks keep their shells under such pressure?, remains unknown.

In addition, hydrothermal vents release another gas, hydrogen sulfide, which is deadly to shellfish. However, they learned to bind the sulfur compound into a safe protein, which allowed the population of these mollusks to survive.

At the bottom of the Mariana Trench

4. Pure liquid carbon dioxide

hydrothermal source Champagne The Mariana Trench, 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, got its name from the bubbles that turned out to be carbon dioxide.

Many believe that these springs, called "white smokers" because of the lower temperature, 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 originate.

5. Slime

If we had the opportunity to swim to the very depths of the Mariana Trench, then we would feel that it covered with a layer of viscous mucus. Sand, in its usual form, does not exist there.

The bottom of the depression mainly consists of crushed shells and plankton residues that have accumulated at the bottom of the depression for many years. Due to the incredible pressure of the water, almost everything there turns into fine greyish-yellow thick mud.

Mariana Trench

6. Liquid sulfur

Volcano Daikoku, which is located at a depth of about 414 meters on the way to the Mariana Trench, is the source of one of the rarest phenomena on our planet. Here is lake of pure molten sulfur. The only place where liquid sulfur can be found is Jupiter's moon Io.

In this pit, called "cauldron", a seething black emulsion boils at 187 degrees Celsius. Although scientists have not been able to explore this place in detail, it is possible that even more liquid sulfur is contained deeper. It may reveal the secret of the origin of life on Earth.

According to the Gaia hypothesis, our planet is one self-governing organism in which all living and non-living things are 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 pass into the air and back to land again.

7. Bridges

At the end of 2011, in the Mariana Trench, it was discovered four stone bridges, which stretched 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 bridges Dutton Ridge, which was discovered back in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. At the highest point the ridge reaches 2.5 km over 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 amazing.

8James Cameron's dive into the Mariana Trench

Since opening the deepest place in the Mariana Trench - "Challenger Deep" in 1875, only three people were here. The first was an American lieutenant Don Walsh and researcher Jacques Picard who dived on January 23, 1960 on the Trieste.

After 52 years, another person dared to dive here - a famous film director James Cameron. So March 26, 2012 Cameron went down to the bottom and took some photos.

Not far from Japan, in the depths of the sea, the deepest trench in the world's oceans, the Mariana Trench, hid. This geographical feature got its name due to the islands of the same name located nearby. Scientists call this phenomenon the "Fourth Pole", along with the South, North and the highest point on the planet - Mount Everest.

Geolocation

The coordinates of the Mariana Trench are 11°22` north latitude and 142°35` east longitude. The trench surrounds the coastal islands for a length of more than 2.5 thousand km, and a width of about 69 km. In its shape, it resembles the English letter V, widened at the top and narrowed towards the bottom. This formation was the result of the impact of the boundaries of tectonic plates. The maximum depth of the world ocean in this place is 10994 (plus or minus 40 m).

Rice. 1. Mariana Trench on the map

Compared to Everest, the largest depression is farther from the surface of the Earth than the highest peak. The mountain has a length of 8848 m, and climbing it was much easier than overcoming the incredible pressure, plunging into the abyss of the sea.

The deepest place in the Mariana Trench is the Challenger Deep point, which means “Challenger Deep” in English. It was first explored by a British ship of the same name. They recorded a depth of 11521m.

First studies

The deepest point of the oceans was conquered only in 1960 by two daredevils: Don Walsh and Jacques Picard. They dived on the Trieste bathyscaphe and became the first people in the world to descend first to a depth of 3,000 meters, and then to 10,000 meters. The bottom mark was recorded as early as 30 minutes after the dive. In total, they spent about 3 hours at a depth, and froze significantly. After all, in addition to the huge pressure, there is also a low water temperature - about 2 degrees Celsius.

Rice. 2. Mariana Trench in section

In 2012, famous director James Cammeron (“Titanic”) conquered the deepest cavity, becoming the third person on Earth to descend this far. It was the most important expedition, during which unique photo and video materials were obtained, as well as bottom samples were taken. Contrary to popular belief, at the bottom is not sand, but mucus - a product of processing the remains of fish bones and plankton.

Flora and fauna

The underwater world of the largest crack has been studied very poorly. It was first discovered that life in this part of the Earth is possible in 1950. Then Soviet scientists suggested that some of the simplest creatures managed to adapt in chitinous pipes. The new family was named pogonophores.

What have we learned?

We learned which part of the Earth is the deepest. This is the Mariana Trench. The deepest point is the Challenger Abyss (11,521 m). The first expedition to the bottom ended successfully in 1960. In conditions of pitch darkness, pressure and constant poisonous fumes, a special world has formed here with its unique animals and simple organisms. It is very difficult to say what the world of the Mariana Trench really is, because it has only been studied by 5%.

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The ocean is much closer to us than the planets of the solar system. However, its bottom has been studied only by 5 percent. And how many more secrets do the waters of the oceans keep? This is the greatest mystery of our planet.

Max Depth

The Mariana Trench, or otherwise the Mariana Trench, is the deepest place in the world's oceans. Amazing creatures live here and there is practically no light. However, this is the most famous place, which is still not fully understood and is fraught with many unsolved mysteries.

Diving into the Mariana Trench is a real suicide. After all, the water pressure here is thousands of times higher than the pressure at sea level. The maximum depth of the world's oceans is approximately 10,994 meters with an error of 40 meters. However, there are daredevils who descended to the very bottom, risking their own lives. Of course, this was not without modern technology.

Where is the deepest place in the oceans

The Mariana Trench is located in the region, and to be more precise, in its western part, closer to the east, near Guam, about 200 kilometers from the deepest place in the world's oceans, it resembles a crescent-shaped trench in shape. The depression is approximately 69 kilometers wide and 2,550 kilometers long.

Mariana Trench coordinates: East longitude - 142°35', North latitude - 11°22'.

bottom temperature

Scientists have suggested that at the maximum depth there should be a very low temperature. However, they were very surprised by the fact that at the bottom of the Mariana Trench this indicator remains above zero and is 1 - 4 ° C. Soon this phenomenon was found and an explanation.

Hydrothermal springs are located approximately at a depth of 1600 meters from the surface of the water. They are also called "white smokers". Jets of very hot water come out of the springs. Its temperature is 450° Celsius.

It is worth noting that this water contains a huge amount of minerals. It is these chemical elements that support life at great depths. Despite such a high temperature, which is several times higher than the boiling point, the water does not boil here. And this is due to the relatively high pressure. At this depth, this figure is 155 times higher than at the surface.

As you can see, the deepest places in the oceans are not so simple. There are still many mysteries hidden in them that need to be unraveled.

Who lives at such a depth

Many people think that the deepest place in the world's oceans is an abyss where life cannot exist. However, this is not the case. At the very bottom of the Mariana Trench, scientists have discovered very large amoebas, which are called xenophyophores. Their body length is 10 centimeters. These are very large unicellular organisms.

Scientists suggest that this type of amoeba has acquired such dimensions due to the environment in which they have to exist. It is worth noting that these single-celled creatures were found at a depth of 10.6 kilometers. Many factors influenced their development. This is the lack of sunlight, and rather high pressure, and, of course, cold water.

In addition, xenophyophores have simply unique abilities. Amoebas tolerate exposure to many chemicals and elements, including lead, mercury and uranium.

shellfish

The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is very high. In such conditions, even creatures with bones or a shell have no chance to survive. However, not so long ago, mollusks were found in the Mariana Trench. They live near hydrothermal springs, because serpentine contains methane and hydrogen. These substances allow a living organism to fully form.

It is still not known how mollusks manage to keep their shells in such conditions. In addition, hydrothermal springs release another gas - hydrogen sulfide. And he, as you know, is fatal to any mollusks.

Liquid carbon dioxide in its purest form

The Mariana Trench is a deep place in the oceans, as well as an amazing world with many inexplicable phenomena. There are hydrothermal vents located near Taiwan, outside the Okinawa Trench. This is the only underwater area currently known where liquid carbon dioxide is present. This place was discovered back in 2005.

Many scientists believe that it was these sources that allowed life to originate in the Mariana Trench. After all, here is not only the optimum temperature, but also chemicals are present.

Finally

The deepest places in the oceans simply amaze with the extraordinary nature of their world. Here you can meet living organisms that feel great in complete darkness and at high pressure and cannot exist in another environment.

It is worth noting that the Mariana Trench has the status of a national monument of the United States. This marine reserve is the largest in the world. Of course, for those who want to visit here, there is a certain list of rules. Mining and fishing is strictly prohibited in this place.

Which are distinguished by the highest pressure and darkness through which it is almost impossible to see anything. The deepest depressions on Earth, which will be discussed later, have not been fully studied by man to date.

Mariana Trench

She tops the ranking and is also known as the Mariana Trench. Its location is in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the fault. The depth of the fault is 10994 meters, however, according to scientists, this value can vary within 40 meters. The first dive into the Mariana Trench occurred on January 23, 1960. The bathyscaphe, in which US Navy lieutenant Joe Walsh and scientist Jacques Picard were located, sank to 10,918 meters. The first researchers claimed that they saw fish below that looked like a flounder. However, no photographs were taken. Later, two more dives were made. It turned out that the largest depression in the world has mountains at its bottom, which reach a height of about 2500 meters.

Trench Tonga

This depression is only slightly inferior to the Mariana and has a depth of 10882 meters. Its characteristic feature is the speed of movement, which reaches 25.4 cm per year (while the average value of this indicator is about 2 cm). An interesting fact about this trough is that at a depth of approximately 6 km, the Apollo 13 lunar landing stage is located here, which fell here from space.

Philippine Trench

It is located near the Philippine Islands in and takes third place in such a ranking as "The Deepest Trench on Earth." The depth of the Philippine Trench is 10,540 meters. This depression was formed as a result of subduction and is not fully understood due to the fact that the Mariana is of much greater interest.

Kermadec

The gutter is connected in the northern part with the above-mentioned Tonga and reaches a depth of 10047 meters. A thorough study of it, which took place at a depth of about seven and a half kilometers, was carried out in 2008. During the study, rare living creatures were discovered that are distinguished by their original pink color.

Izu-Bonin Trench

The deepest depressions on Earth were predominantly discovered in the twentieth century. In contrast to them, the Izu-Bonin Trench, 9810 meters deep, was first discovered by man at the very end of the nineteenth century. This happened when determining the depth of the bottom for laying a telephone cable. Later it turned out that the trench is an integral part of a whole chain of depressions in the ocean.

Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

The depth of this depression is 9783 meters. It was discovered during the exploration of the previous chute and is characterized by a very small width (59 meters). On the slopes there are many valleys with ledges, terraces and canyons. At the bottom there are depressions separated by thresholds. Detailed studies of it have not yet been carried out due to difficult access.

Puerto Rico Trench

The deepest trenches on Earth are not only in the Pacific Ocean. The Puerto Rico Trench formed on the border with the Caribbean Sea. Its deepest point is located at around 8385 meters. The basin differs from others by relatively high seismic activity, as a result of which underwater eruptions and tsunamis sometimes occur in this place. It should also be noted that the depression is gradually lowering, which is associated with the lowering of the tectonic North American plate.

17.08.2015 at 18:31 · Johnny · 39 480

Top 10 Deepest Places on Earth

We still know very little about our planet. This is especially true of the depths of the oceans and seas. But even on land there are places that amaze the human imagination. For example, the deepest places on Earth. What we know about them and where the lowest points of the earth's surface are located - more on that later.

Huge holes or cliffs are rare in everyday life, but our planet has a varied landscape. Along with the highest mountain peaks, there are also the deepest places on our planet both natural and man-made.

10. Lake Baikal | 1 642 m

It would be a mistake to assume that the deepest places on Earth are only in the oceans and seas. Baikal has a depth of 1,642 meters and is among the lakes. Therefore, local residents often call Baikal the sea. This depth is explained by the tectonic origin of the lake. Many other records and amazing discoveries are associated with this place. Baikal can be called the largest natural reservoir of fresh water on Earth. This is the oldest lake on our planet (it is more than 25 million years old) and two thirds of the flora and fauna of the reservoir are found nowhere else.

9. Krubera-Voronya Cave | 2 196 m

There are also giants among the caves. The Krubera-Voronya cave (Abkhazia) belongs to the deepest places on Earth. Its depth is 2196 meters. It should be noted that we are talking about the studied part of the cave. It is possible that the next expedition will go even lower and set a new depth record. The karst cave consists of wells connected by passages and galleries. It was first opened in 1960. Then cavers were able to descend to a depth of 95 meters. The two-kilometer barrier was overcome by the Ukrainian expedition of speleologists in 2004.

8. TowTon Mine | 4000 m

Tau Tona Mine in South Africa is the deepest mine on Earth. It is located in the Republic of South Africa, not far from Johannesburg. This world's greatest gold mine goes into the ground for 4 kilometers. At this incredible depth, there is a whole underground city with a network of kilometer-long tunnels. To get to their workplace, the miners have to spend about an hour. Working at such a depth is associated with a large number of dangers - this is humidity, which reaches 100% in some branches of the mine, high air temperature, the risk of explosion from gas seeping into the tunnels and collapse from earthquakes, which occur quite often here. But all the dangers of work and the costs of maintaining the functionality of the mine are generously paid off by the mined gold - in the entire history of the mine's existence, 1,200 tons of precious metal have been mined here.

7. Kola well | 12,262 m

The deepest well on Earth is the Kola superdeep well, which is located on the territory of Russia. This is one of the most unusual and interesting experiments performed by Soviet scientists. Drilling began in 1970 and had only one goal - to learn more about the Earth's crust. The Kola Peninsula was chosen for the experiment because the oldest rocks of the Earth, about 3 million years old, come to the surface here. They were also of great interest to scientists. The depth of the well is 12,262 meters. It made it possible to make unexpected discoveries and forced to reconsider scientific ideas about the occurrence of the Earth's rocks. Unfortunately, the well, created for a purely scientific purpose, did not find application in subsequent years, and a decision was made to conserve it.

6. Izu-Bonin depression | 9 810 m

In 1873-76, the American oceanographic ship Tuscarora conducted surveys of the seabed for the laying of an underwater cable. A lot, abandoned off the Japanese islands of Izu, recorded a depth of 8,500 meters. Later, the Soviet ship "Vityaz" in 1955 set the maximum depth of the depression - 9810 meters.

5. Kuril-Kamchatsky Trench | 10,542 m

- this is not only one of the deepest places on Earth, the depression is also the narrowest in the Pacific Ocean. The width of the gutter is 59 meters, and the maximum depth is 10,542 meters. The basin is located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In the middle of the last century, Soviet scientists were engaged in its study on the Vityaz ship. No more detailed research has been done. The gutter was opened by the American ship Tuscarora and bore this name for a long time until it was renamed.

4. Kermadec Trench | 10,047 m

Located in the Pacific Ocean off the Kermadec Islands. The maximum depth of the depression is 10,047 meters. Investigated by the Soviet vessel "Vityaz". In 2008, at a depth of 7 kilometers in the Kermadec Trench, a previously unknown species of sea slugs from the snail fish family was discovered. The researchers were also surprised by other abodes of this deepest place on Earth - huge 30-centimeter crustaceans.

3. Philippine Trench | 10 540 m

Opens the top three deepest points on the planet. 10,540 meters - this is its depth. It was formed millions of years ago as a result of the collision of the earth's plates. Located in the east of the Philippine archipelago. By the way, scientists have long believed that the Philippine Trench is the deepest point of the Pacific Ocean.

2. Trench Tonga | 10 882 m

It is located in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, near the islands of Tonga. This area is extremely interesting because it is a very active seismic zone. Several strong earthquakes occur here every year. The depth of the gutter is 10,882 meters. It is only 100 meters smaller than the Mariana Trench. The difference is about a percent, but it puts the Tonga Trench in second place on the list of the deepest places on Earth.

1. Mariana Trench | 10 994 m

It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and is shaped like a crescent moon. The length of the gutter is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and the deepest point is 10,994 meters. It is called the Challenger Deep.

The deepest place on Earth was discovered in 1875 by the English ship Challenger. To date, the depression is the most studied of all the other deep-sea trenches. They tried to reach its bottom during four dives: in 1960, 1995, 2009 and 2012. The last time director James Cameron descended into the Mariana Trench all alone. Most of all, the bottom of the trough reminded him of the lifeless lunar surface. But, unlike the Earth's satellite, the Mariana Trench is inhabited by living organisms. Researchers have found toxic amoebae, mollusks and deep-sea fish here that look very frightening. Since there has not been a full-scale study of the trench, except for short-term dives, the Mariana Trench may still hide a lot of interesting things.