What was found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Discoveries at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Where is it

A black and white photograph from half a century ago shows the legendary bathyscaphe Trieste as it prepares to dive. The crew of two was in a spherical steel gondola. It was attached to a float filled with gasoline to provide positive buoyancy.

Deepest depression

Mariana Trench(Mariana Trench) is an oceanic trench, the deepest in the World Ocean. According to measurements from 2011, the bottom of the trench drops to a maximum depth of 10,920 m. These are data from organizations associated with UNESCO, and they roughly correspond to measurements made by landers, which showed a maximum depth of 10,916 m. This place is called the Challenger Deep - after the English ship, who discovered the depression in the 19th century.

The depression is a tectonic fault.

In 2012, an American oceanographic expedition discovered four ridges up to 2.5 km high at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. According to the University of New Hampshire, they formed about 180 million years ago in a process of constant movement. lithospheric plates. The marginal part of the Pacific Plate is gradually “sinking” under the Philippine Plate. And then folding in the form of mountains is formed near the border of lithospheric plates.

In cross-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 areas. The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is more than 1100 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure, reaching 3150 kg/cm2.

Temperatures at the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) are surprisingly high thanks to hydrothermal vents nicknamed “black smokers.” They constantly heat the water and maintain the overall temperature in the depression 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 English oceanographic vessel Challenger during a scientific expedition across the World Ocean. The British discovered the Mariana Trench quite by accident, during an on-duty sounding of the bottom using a lot (Italian hemp rope and lead weight). Despite 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 Deep.

Measurements made in 1899 from the American coal miner Nero already showed greater depth: 9636 m.

In 1951, the bottom of the depression was measured by the British hydrographic vessel Challenger, named after its predecessor, unofficially called Challenger II. Now, using an 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. However, 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-geographical maps published in the USSR and Russia.

In 1959, the American research vessel Stranger measured the depth of the trench 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 is not yet possible to obtain absolutely accurate readings even with the most modern equipment. The work of an 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.

Diving into the Mariana Trench

The existence of the Mariana Trench has been known for quite some time, and there are technical possibilities for going down to the bottom, but over the past 60 years only three people have had the opportunity to do this: a scientist, a military man and a film director.

During the entire study of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench), vehicles with people on board were lowered to its bottom twice and automatic vehicles were dropped four times (as of April 2017).

On January 23, 1960, the bathyscaphe Trieste sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) abyss. On board were Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard (1922-2008) and US Navy lieutenant, explorer Don Walsh (born 1931). The bathyscaphe was designed by Jacques Piccard's father - physicist, inventor of the stratospheric balloon and bathyscaphe Auguste Piccard (1884-1962).

The descent of the Trieste lasted 4 hours 48 minutes, with the crew periodically interrupting it. At a depth of 9 km, the 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 kind of crustacean creature. After staying at a depth of 10912 m for about 20 minutes, 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 film director James Cameron (born 1954) became the third to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep. Previously, he repeatedly dived on Russian Mir submersibles 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 which he rose to the surface in just an hour and a half. At the bottom, Cameron saw only creatures that looked like shrimp.

The fauna and flora of the Mariana Trench have been poorly studied.

In the 1950s Soviet scientists during the expedition of the Vityaz vessel discovered life at depths of more than 7 thousand m. Before this, it was believed that there was nothing living there. Pogonophorans were discovered - a new family of marine invertebrates that live in chitinous tubes. Disputes about their scientific classification are still going on.

The main inhabitants of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench), living at the very bottom, are barophilic (developing only at high pressure) bacteria, protozoan creatures - foraminifera - single-celled in shells and xenophyophores - amoebas, reaching 20 cm in diameter and living by shoveling silt.

Foraminifera were obtained by the Japanese automatic deep-sea probe "Kaiko" in 1995, which dived to 10,911.4 m and took soil samples.

The larger inhabitants of the trench live throughout its thickness. Life at depth made them either blind or with very developed eyes, often telescopic. Many have photophores - luminous organs, a kind of bait for prey: some have long processes, like an angler fish, while others have them right in the mouth. Some accumulate luminous liquid and, in case of danger, shower the enemy with it in the manner of a “light curtain”.

Since 2009, the territory of the depression has been part of the American protected area Mariana Trench Marine National Monument with an area of ​​246,608 km 2. The zone includes only the underwater part of the trench and the water area. The basis 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 Deep is not included in this zone, as it is located on the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia.

general information

Location: west Pacific Ocean.
Origin: tectonic.
Administrative affiliation :

Numbers

Length: 2550 km.
Width: 69 km.
Challenger Deep : depth - about 11 km, width - 1.6 km.
Deepest point : 10,920±10 m (Challenger Deep, 340 km southwest of Guam (USA), 2011).
Average slope : 7-9°.
Bottom pressure: 106.6 megapascals (MPa).
Nearest islands : 287 km southwest of Fais Island (Yap Islands, Federated States Micronesia); 304 km. northeast of the island of Guam (an unincorporated organized territory of the United States).
Average water temperature at the bottom : +3.3°C.

Curious facts

• To emphasize the size of the depression, its depth is often compared to the high mountain Earth - Everest (8848 m). It is suggested to imagine that if Everest were at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, there would still be more than two kilometers left from the top of the mountain to the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
• The research vessel “Vityaz” is a 109-meter, single-screw, double-deck motor ship with a displacement of 5,710 tons. It was launched in 1939 at the German shipyard “Schihau” in Bremerhaven (Germany). Initially it was a cargo-passenger ship called “Mars”. During World War II, it was a military transport and transported more than 20 thousand refugees from East Prussia. After the war, due to reparations, he first ended up in England, then in the USSR. Since 1949 - a research vessel of the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, named “Vityaz” in memory of the famous Russian corvettes of the 19th century. Depicted on USSR postage stamps. Since 1994, permanently moored at the pier of the Museum of the World Ocean in the very center of Kaliningrad. Design feature: winches for anchoring, trawling the bottom and taking soil samples at a depth of 11 thousand m.
• To date, only 5% of the bottom of the World Ocean has been studied in relatively detail.
• In 1951, after members of the Challenger expedition measured the depth of the trench with an echo sounder (10,899 m), it was decided - just in case - to also measure it with the good old rope line. The measurement showed a slight deviation: 10,863 m.
• British writer Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), describing a dive to the bottom of a deep-sea trench in his novel “The Deep of Maracot,” predicted future exploration of the Mariana Trench using controlled vehicles. His predictions turned out to be much more realistic than the description given earlier by the French science fiction writer Jules Verne (1828-1905) in the novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” where the Nautilus submarine descends to a depth of 16 thousand meters and rises to the surface, “ emerging from the water like a flying fish” in just 4 minutes.
• ■ After its descent into the Mariana Trench, the bathyscaphe Trieste was used more than once for deep-sea diving. In 1963, with his help, the US Navy found the wreckage of the sunken nuclear submarine Thresher, lying at a depth of 2560 m with a crew of 129 people. As a result of numerous modifications, almost nothing from the original device was preserved. The bathyscaphe is currently on display in the hall National Museum US Navy in Washington, DC.
• Pogonophora underwater creatures are very difficult to study. These are the thinnest thread-like worms, often only one tenth of a millimeter thick and up to two to three tens of centimeters long, and are also enclosed in fairly strong tubes.

IN earth's crust there are the deepest faults - sea depressions at the bottom of the oceans, where impenetrable darkness and the highest pressure reign. We offer a selection of the deepest sea depressions, which the lack of technology does not yet allow to study well.

1. Mariana Trench

The Mariana Trench is the deepest oceanic trench on our planet, which is located in the Pacific Ocean not far from the trench that gave it its name Mariana Islands. The depth of the trench is 10994 ± 40 m below sea level.

Paradoxically, the Mariana Trench has been more or less explored - three people have already descended here.

Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard

The first time this happened was on January 23, 1960, when the bathyscaphe, carrying US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and researcher Jacques Piccard, managed to sink to a depth of 10,918 m. Then there were no such technologies as there are now, and two people were connected to the world only by a strong cable. After a successful return, the researchers said that they saw flat flounder-like fish at the very bottom, but, unfortunately, there were no photographs.

Just a year ago, director James Cameron descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. It was easier for him, even though he was alone: ​​in 50 years, technology has moved far forward. Moreover, his bathyscaphe " Deepsea Challenger"was equipped with everything necessary for photography and video shooting, and there were also 3D cameras on board. Based on the material received, the National Geographic channel is preparing a film.

And recently, information was received that there are real mountains at the bottom of the Mariana Trench: using echolocation, it was possible to “see” four ridges 2.5 km high.

2. Tonga Trench

The Tonga Trench is the deepest trench in the Southern Hemisphere and the second deepest on Earth. The maximum known depth is 10,882 m. It is unusual primarily because the speed of movement of lithospheric plates in the Tonga region is much greater than in all other parts of the planet where there are breaks in the earth's crust. Here the plates move at a speed of 25.4 cm per year versus the usual 2 cm. This was established by observing the tiny island of Niautoputanu, which moves by an average of just 25 cm every year.

Somewhere in the middle of Tonga, the Apollo 13 lunar landing stage was stuck, having fallen there during the lunar module's return to Earth. It is located at a depth of approximately 6,000 m, and no attempts have been made to extract it from there. Along with it, a plutonium energy source containing plutonium-238 fell into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It seems that this did not cause much harm to the environment, although given that the half-life of plutonium-238 is slightly less than 88 years, and the module fell there in 1970, very interesting discoveries may await pioneers who decide to go down to the bottom of Tonga.

3. Philippine groove

The Philippine Trench is also located in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippine Islands. The maximum depth is 10,540 m. Little is known about the trench - only that it was formed as a result of subduction. No one tried to go down to its bottom, since the Mariana Trench, of course, is more interesting.

4. Kermadec gutter

The Kermadec connects to the north with the Tonga Trench. The maximum depth is 10,047 m. During an expedition in 2008, it was possible to photograph a strange pink creature of the species Notoliparis kermadecensis at a depth of 7,560 m. Other inhabitants were also found there - huge crustaceans 34 cm in length.

5. Izu-Bonin Trench

The maximum depth of the Izu-Bonin Pacific Trench, also known as Izu-Ogasawara, is 9,810 m. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century during an expedition when it was decided to lay a telephone cable along the ocean floor. Of course, it was first necessary to take measurements, and in one place, not far from the Izu Islands, the Tuscarora vessel’s lot did not reach the bottom, recording a depth of more than 8,500 m.

In the north, Izu-Ogasawara connects with the Japan Trench, and in the south with the Volcano Trench. There is a whole chain of deep-sea depressions in this area of ​​​​the ocean, and Izu-Bonin is just part of it.

6. Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

This depression was discovered shortly after Izu-Bonin during the same expedition. The maximum depth is 9,783 m. This trench is quite narrow compared to all the others, its width is only 59 m. It is known that on the slopes of this trench there are ledges, terraces, canyons and valleys that appear up to the maximum depth. The bottom of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench is uneven, divided by rapids into separate depressions. To our knowledge, no detailed studies have been carried out.

7. Puerto Rico Trench

The Puerto Rico Trench is located on the border of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The maximum depth is 8,385 m, and this is the deepest place in Atlantic Ocean. The area where the trench is located is a zone of high seismic activity. The last disaster occurred here in 2004, when underwater volcanic eruptions caused a tsunami that hit the countries Indian Ocean. Recent studies have shown that perhaps the depth of the trench is gradually increasing due to the fact that the North American tectonic plate - the southern “wall” of the trench - is gradually descending.

At a depth of 7,900 m in the Puerto Rican Trench, an active mud volcano was discovered, which erupted rock 10 km high in 2004. A column of hot mud and water was clearly visible above the surface of the ocean.

8. Japanese groove

The Japan Trench is also located in the Pacific Ocean, as the name suggests, it is located near Japanese Islands. The depth of the Japan Trench, according to the latest data, is about 8,400 m, and the length is more than 1,000 km.

No one has yet reached its bottom, but in 1989, the Shinkai 6500 bathyscaphe with three researchers on board sank to 6,526 m. Later, in 2008, a group of Japanese and British researchers managed to film large groups fish 30 cm long at a depth of 7,700 m.

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

Maximum 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 conceals many unsolved mysteries.

Diving into the Mariana Trench is truly 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 brave souls who descended to the very bottom, risking their own lives. Of course, this could not have happened without modern technologies.

Where is the deepest place in the world's oceans?

The Mariana Trench is located in the region, or more precisely, in its western part, closer to the east, near Guam, about 200 kilometers from the deepest place in the world's oceans, shaped like a crescent-shaped trench. The width of the depression is approximately 69 kilometers and the length is 2550 kilometers.

Coordinates of the Mariana Trench: eastern longitude - 142°35’, northern latitude - 11°22’.

Temperature at the bottom

Scientists have suggested that at 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 figure remains above zero and amounts to 1 - 4 ° C. Soon an explanation was found for this phenomenon.

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 great amount 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 explained by fairly high pressure. At this depth, this figure is 155 times higher than that on the surface.

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

Who lives at such depths?

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 discovered very large amoebas, which are called xenophyophores. Their body length is 10 centimeters. These are very large single-celled organisms.

Scientists suggest that this type Amoebas have acquired such sizes 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. Their development was influenced by many factors. This includes the lack of sunlight, fairly high pressure, and, of course, cold water.

In addition, xenophyophores have simply unique abilities. Amoebas tolerate the effects of many chemicals and elements, including lead, mercury and uranium.

Shellfish

There is very high pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. In such conditions, even creatures with bones or shells have no chance of surviving. 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 preserve their shells in such conditions. In addition, hydrothermal springs release another gas - hydrogen sulfide. And it is known to be fatal to any mollusks.

Liquid carbon dioxide in its pure form

The Mariana Trench is a deep place in the world's oceans, and also amazing world with many unexplained phenomena. There are hydrothermal vents located near Taiwan, outside the Okinawa Trench. This is the only underwater area known on this moment 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 arise in the Mariana Trench. After all, here not only optimal temperature, but there are also chemicals present.

Finally

The deepest places of the world's oceans simply amaze with the extraordinary nature of their world. Here you can find living organisms that thrive in complete darkness and at high pressure and cannot exist in any other environment.

It is worth noting that the Mariana Trench has the status of a US national monument. 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.

The deepest place on Earth is an oceanic trench located near the Mariana Islands.

The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, east of the 14 Mariana Islands near Japan. As you probably already know, this is the deepest ocean trench and also the deepest place on Earth. It was created as a result of the opposition of two tectonic plates.

The deepest point in the Mariana Trench is considered to be the Challenger Deep point (which means “Challenging”), it is also the deepest point of the world’s oceans. According to various deep-sea research vehicles, the maximum recorded depth is 11,521 m.

The Mariana Trench was first explored in 1951 by a British ship. navy Challenger II, hence the name of the deepest point on Earth.

The first people to personally dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench were Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard and US soldier Don Walsh. This happened in January 1960 on a special round submersible called Trieste. The scientists were greatly surprised when, at such a great depth, they encountered flat fish and other living organisms. Later in 1995, a Japanese deep-sea vehicle dived to the point of maximum depth and recorded a distance from the bottom to the surface of 10,911.4 meters. According to the most recent studies in 2011, using the newest locators, the depth was named 10,994 meters. website - Interesting Facts about everything, read on and learn something new.

The size of the Mariana Trench is enormous; it extends along 1500 km. The width at the very bottom is only 1-5 km, the bottom is flat and surrounded by steep cliffs. The water pressure at the very bottom of the depression is 108.6 MPa, which in turn is 11,074 tons/m2, or 1,107 kg/cm2.
For comparison, here are some facts.

123 meters. Record maximum depth the dive of a person without scuba gear and breathing apparatus is 123 m. This record was achieved by a diver from Monaco and officially registered.

100 m. Blue whale– the largest animal on earth, has a diving depth of no more than 100 meters.

1000 m. Below this mark no sunlight penetrates.

2000 m. The sperm whale is the only mammal that is capable of diving to a depth of two kilometers.

4000 m. Water pressure reaches 402 kg per cm2. The ambient temperature is not higher than +2 degrees. Fish are blind or have underdeveloped eyes.

6000 m. The pressure is 584 times greater than the pressure on the Earth's surface. Despite this, life exists here.

10994 m. Bottom of the Mariana Trench. There is a complete absence of light, water pressure is 1072 times higher than the surface pressure, 1 ton 74 kilograms presses per 1 square centimeter. Hellish conditions. But there is life here. Small fish similar to flounder up to 30 centimeters long.

Below we provide photographs of deep-sea fish. Most of these creatures live at depths between 500 and 6,500 meters.

Do you think this monkfish fish has legs? I hasten to disappoint you. These are not legs at all, but two males that are stuck to the female. The fact is that at great depths and in the complete absence of light it is very difficult to find a partner. Therefore, as soon as a male monkfish finds a female, he immediately bites into her side. This hug will never be broken. Later, it fuses with the female’s body, loses all unnecessary organs, merges with her circulatory system and becomes only a source of sperm. Below is another photo of this fish.

This is a deep-sea octopus measuring only 20 cm. Its habitat depth is from 500 to 5000 meters.

This is a fish with transparent head. For what? At depth, as we know, there is very little light. The fish has developed a defense mechanism; its eyes are located in the center of the head so that they cannot be injured. In order to see, evolution has awarded this fish with a transparent head. The two green spheres are the eyes.

We hope you liked the photos of fish living in the depths of the Mariana Trench.

Even though the oceans are closer to us than distant planets solar system, People Only five percent of the ocean floor has been explored, which remains one of greatest mysteries of our planet.

Here are other interesting facts about what you can find 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 depths, we expect it to be very cold. 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 water temperature being hundreds of degrees above boiling point, she doesn't boil here due to incredible pressure, 155 times higher than on the surface.

Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench

2. Giant toxic amoebas

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

These single-celled organisms likely became so large because of the environment they live in at a depth of 10.6 km. Cold temperatures, high pressure and lack of sunlight likely contributed to these amoebas have acquired enormous dimensions.

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. Shellfish

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

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

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

At the bottom of the Mariana Trench

4. Pure liquid carbon dioxide

Hydrothermal source of 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, was named after the bubbles that turned out to be carbon dioxide.

Many believe these springs, called "white smokers" due to their lower temperatures, may be the source of life. It was in the depths of the oceans, with low temperatures and an abundance of chemicals and energy, that life could begin.

5. Slime

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

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

Mariana Trench

6. Liquid sulfur

Daikoku Volcano, which is located at a depth of about 414 meters on the way to the Mariana Trench, is the source of one of the most rare phenomena on our planet. 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 the "cauldron", there is a bubbling black emulsion boils at 187 degrees Celsius. Although scientists have not been able to explore this site in detail, it is possible that even more liquid sulfur is contained deeper. 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 everything living and nonliving is connected to support its life. If this hypothesis is correct, then a number of signals can be observed in the natural cycles and systems of the Earth. So the sulfur compounds created by organisms in the ocean must be stable enough in the water to allow them to move into the air and return to land.

7. Bridges

At the end of 2011, it was discovered in the Mariana Trench four stone bridges, which extended from one end to the other for 69 km. They appear to have formed at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.

One of the bridges Dutton Ridge, which was discovered back in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. In the most high 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 surprising.

8. James Cameron's Dive into the Mariana Trench

Since opening himself deep place Mariana Trench - "Challenger Deep" in 1875, only three people visited here. The first were American Lieutenant Don Walsh and researcher Jacques Picard, who dived on January 23, 1960 on the ship Trieste.

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