What is the pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The mysterious “thirst” of the Mariana Trench: the deepest place on Earth absorbs tons of water into nowhere. Amazing inhabitants of the gutter

What every schoolchild knows from the subject of geography: the highest point on the planet is Mount Everest (8848 m), and the lowest is Mariana Trench. The Trench is the deepest and most mysterious point of our planet - despite the fact that the oceans are closer than cosmic stars, humanity has only managed to study 5 percent ocean depths.

The depression is located in the western part Pacific Ocean and is a V-shape that flows 1,500 km around the Mariana Islands - hence the name. The deepest point is the Challenger Deep, which received its name from the Challenger II echo sounder (Challenger), which managed to record 10,994 m below sea level. Measuring the bottom under conditions of pressure 1072 times higher than normal for a person is akin to suicide; in 1875, a corvette of an English expedition was first sent under the water column. The contribution of Soviet scientists is also invaluable - the Vityaz ship in 1957 obtained invaluable data: there is life in the Mariana Trench, despite the fact that even light does not penetrate to a depth of over 1000 m.

Ocean monsters


In 1960, US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard descended into the dark abyss on the bathyscaphe Trieste, depth of the Mariana Trench. At a record 10,915 m, they found flathead fish that resembled flounder. There were some problems: the instruments recorded the shadows of creatures resembling mystical multi-headed dragons. Scientists heard the gnashing of teeth on metal - and the hull of the ship was 13 cm thick! As a result, it was decided to urgently raise the Trieste to the surface before tragedy occurred. On land they discovered that the thick cable was almost half broken - unknown creatures clearly did not tolerate strangers in their underwater kingdom... Details about this dangerous journey were published in the New York Times in 1996.

Later, researchers, using special equipment, confirmed that there really is life at the bottom of the depression - the latest developments in technology made it possible to take unique photographs of half-meter-long mutant octopuses, strange jellyfish and anglerfish. They feed mainly on each other - and sometimes on bacteria. Interestingly, crustaceans caught in the abyss have much more toxins in their puny bodies than the inhabitants of the coastal waters of the ocean. Scientists were most surprised by the mollusks - in theory, the monstrous pressure should have flattened their shells, but ocean inhabitants feel good in these conditions.

Champagne at the bottom of the ocean

Another mystery of the depression is the so-called “Champagne”, a hydrothermal source that releases countless bubbles of carbon dioxide into the waters. This is the world's only underwater source of a liquid chemical element. It was thanks to him that the first hypotheses about the emergence of life on Earth in water arose. By the way, the temperature in the Mariana Trench is not the coldest - from 1 to 4 degrees. It is provided by “black smokers” - the same thermal springs that release ore substances, which is why they acquire a dark color. They are very hot, but due to the high pressure, the water in the abyss does not boil, so the temperature is quite suitable for living organisms.

In 2012, famous film director James Cameron became the first person to reach the bottom of the Pacific Ocean alone. Traveling on the Dipsy Challenger spacecraft, he was able to take soil samples from the Challenger Deep and film it in 3D format. The resulting footage served science and formed the basis documentary film on the National Geographic Channel. Russia is not lagging behind - for an expedition to the bottom depths of the Mariana Trench Our famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov is also preparing. Perhaps he will be able to shed light on the mysteries of the lowest point on the planet?

Pavilion “Around the World. Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia and Oceania"

ETHNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village

In the ethnographic park-museum "ETNOMIR" - amazing place. The “City” street is built inside a spacious pavilion, so Mira Street is always warm, light and good weather- just right for have a fun walk, especially since within the framework of the latter one can accomplish a whole trip around the world. Like any street popular with tourists, it has its own attractions, workshops, street artisans, cafes and shops located inside and outside the 19 houses.

The facades of the buildings are made in different ethnic styles. Each house is a “quote” from the life and traditions of a certain country. The very appearance of the houses begins the story of distant lands.

Step inside and you will be surrounded by new, unfamiliar objects, sounds and smells. The color scheme and decoration, furniture, interior and household items - all this helps to plunge into the atmosphere of distant countries, to understand and feel their uniqueness.

The Mariana Trench is considered the most mysterious and mysterious place of our planet. Located in the Pacific Ocean, this deep-sea trench has been unsuccessfully “attacked” by scientists from all over the world, but detailed information There is still no exact map of the depression and its inhabitants.

Where is the Mariana Trench located?

In the southwestern vicinity of the Pacific Ocean, the group is located Mariana Islands. Some of them were formed due to volcanic processes in the bowels of our earth, the second part represents the eastern edge of the Philippine lithospheric plate, which, colliding with the more massive Pacific, partially rose above the water. It is in this place that the Mariana Trench is located.

Initially, no one knew about the depth of the trench, and, as was common during the Middle Ages, less developed communal formations became colonies of Western European countries:

  • 1521 - A Spanish expedition lands on the islands. Due to conflict with local tribes, geographical discovery for a long time called the Ladron Islands (translated from Spanish - land of thieves);
  • 1668 - the property of the Spanish crown received a new name - the Mariana Islands (in honor of Queen Marianna of Austria).

After the Spanish-American War, part of the wreck was transferred to the United States. In 1875, the British ship Challenger, whose crew included scientists from America and England, used a hydrographic survey to establish a record depth for the trench at that time - more than 8,000 meters. It was decided to name the depression Mariana.

Bottom of the Mariana Trench

The Mariana Trench has a V-shape, and the width of the base (bottom) of the trench does not exceed 3-5 km. This discrepancy in the data concerns not only the width, but also the depth of the depression itself, which is associated with the extreme pressure - at the extreme point it reaches 108 MPa, which gives the echo sounder measurements a certain error:

  • 1875 - British corvette Defiant sets the depth to 8.3 km;
  • 1951 - another British expedition, supplementing the information with new data - 10.86 km;
  • 1957 - the Soviet research expedition updates the previously obtained results: length - 11.03 km, bottom width - 3.57 km;
  • 1995 - length 10.92 km, base width - 4.12 km.

The most recent studies of the bottom of the Mariana Trench were carried out by oceanographers from the University of New Hampshire in 2016:

  • Width- 4.41 km;
  • Square- 403701 square meters;
  • Shelf- rocky, 4 mountain ranges with heights ranging from 1.8 to 2.51 km were discovered;
  • Flora and fauna- plants, oilfish, jellyfish and fish.

With the help of an underwater vehicle launched from the research vessel Okeanos Explorer, the whole world learned about previously unknown organisms whose habitat exceeds a depth of 6,000 meters.

Living in bottomless darkness

For an accurate picture of the pressure distribution, let’s walk along the vertical of the Mariana Trench from the surface of the ocean to the very bottom, and learn about its inhabitants:

  • 100 - 120 meters: pressure exceeds 10 atmospheres. The depth is the extreme point of a blue whale's dive;
  • 1000 meters: maximum daylight penetration point. Here you can find:
    • Sperm whale;
    • Glowing Octopus;
    • A predator from the chordate family.
  • 4000 meters: the abyssal zone is characterized by low water temperatures (about 2-3 C˚), and is a habitat for:
    • Deep sea octopus;
    • Known from the animated film "Finding Nemo" the terrible (monkfish).
  • 5000 - 11000 meters: despite the complete darkness and high pressure, even at the bottom of the depression, scientists recorded previously unknown, giant amoebae and.

Animal world, inhabiting the Mariana Trench, is truly unique. For example, some types of fish accumulate luminous liquid, and when in danger, they “spit” it on the predator, thus temporarily blinding their offender.

Mariana lizards: true or fake?

An incident that occurred in the Mariana Abyss in 2003 introduced the world to a real rival to the Loch Ness monster known as “Nessie”:

  • 2001 - a German expedition, using the Haifish deep-sea vehicle, explored the waters of the trench at a depth of more than 7,500 meters. Hearing sharp sounds, the crew turned on the infrared camera and were speechless for a few seconds - everyone saw a huge prehistoric lizard;
  • 2003 - American scientists lowered an unmanned vehicle into the water. Powerful spotlights and a video system made it possible to record huge monsters with a body length of 14-16 meters. After the bathyscaphe was lifted aboard the ship, the researchers noticed an interesting fact - the steel cable that held the device was worn out or bitten off by more than half.

Three years later, journalists from the New York Times conducted an investigation, which nevertheless cast doubt on the authenticity of the photographs.

Mariana Trench: 5 interesting facts

Do you know that:

  1. The bottom of the trench is covered with ("black smokers"), which, under pressure, release liquid carbon dioxide into the ocean. This allows you to keep the water temperature within 2-4 C˚;
  2. Most fish that live at a depth of 4000 meters and below lack vision or see very poorly;
  3. Only three people in the world were present at the bottom of the Mariana Trench: American Don Walsh (1954), Frenchman Jacques Picard (1960) and famous Hollywood film director James Cameron (2012);
  4. The bottom of the trench is covered with thick viscous silt, the layer reaches 1 km, according to scientists;
  5. The depression is a national natural monument protected by the United States.

Everyone has probably heard about the Mother Trench, which is also called the “bottom of the Earth,” from the school curriculum. deep gutter, the depth of which, according to various sources, varies from 10950 to 11037 meters, is nothing more than a tectonic fault formed at the westernmost point of the Pacific Ocean. Despite the high pressure, which in some places exceeds 100 MPa, there is life in the dark abyss, the diversity of which we will certainly learn about in full in the very near future.

Video: incredible mysteries of the deep sea trench

In this video, Fyodor Miroshnikov will talk about the mysteries of the Mariana Trench, what is currently known to science:

The Mariana Trench is one of the most famous places on the planet. But this does not prevent him from being the keeper of secrets and mysteries. What is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and which living beings are able to withstand these incredible conditions?

Unique depth of the planet

The bottom of the Earth, the Challenger Deep, the most deep place on the planet... What titles have not been assigned to the little-studied Mariana Trench. It represents a V-shaped bowl with a diameter of about 5 km with steep slopes located at an angle of only 7-9° and a flat bottom. According to measurements in 2011, the depth of the trench is 10,994 km below sea level. It’s hard to imagine, but Everest can easily fit in its depths - the most high mountain planets.

The deep-sea trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean. The unique geographical point received its name in honor of those located in close proximity Mariana Islands. Along them it stretches for 1.5 km.

This amazing place on the planet was formed as a result of a tectonic fault, where the Pacific plate partially overlaps the Philippine plate.

Secrets and riddles of “The Womb of Gaia”

There are many secrets and legends around the little-studied Mariana Trench. What is hiding in the depths of the trench?

Japanese scientists who have been studying goblin sharks for a long time claim that they saw predators while feeding gigantic size creature. It was a 25-meter shark that came to feed on goblin sharks. It is assumed that they had the good fortune to see a direct descendant of the megalodon shark, which official version went extinct 2 million years ago. To confirm that these monsters could well have been preserved in the depths of the trench, scientists provided giant teeth found at the bottom.

The world knows many stories about how corpses of unknown giant monsters were found washed up on the shores of nearby islands.


An interesting case is described by the participants in the descent of the German bathyscaphe “Haifish”. At a depth of 7 km, the self-propelled vehicle suddenly stopped. To find out the reason for the stop, the researchers turned on the spotlights and were horrified by what they saw. In front of them was a prehistoric deep-sea lizard that was trying to chew through an underwater vessel. The monster was scared away only by a noticeable electrical impulse from the outer skin of the self-propelled vehicle.

Another inexplicable incident occurred during the dive of an American deep-sea vessel. As the device was lowered on titanium cables, the researchers heard the grinding of metal. To find out the reason, they brought the device back to the surface. As it turned out, the beams of the ship were bent, and the titanium cables were almost sawed through. Which of the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench tested their teeth remains a mystery.

Amazing inhabitants of the gutter

The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench reaches 108.6 MPa. This parameter is more than 1100 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. It is not surprising that people for a long time believed that there was no life at the bottom of the gutter, with icy cold and unbearable pressure.

But despite everything, at a depth of 11 kilometers there are deep-sea monsters that have managed to adapt to these terrible conditions. So who are these representatives of the animal world who have successfully mastered the deepest place on the planet and feel comfortable within the walls of the Mariana Trench?

sea ​​slug

These amazing creatures, living at a depth of 7-8 km, in appearance are more reminiscent not of the “surface” fish we are used to, but rather of tadpoles.

The body of these amazing fish is a jelly-like substance, the density of which is slightly higher than water. This feature of the device allows sea slugs to swim with minimal energy expenditure.


The body of these deep-sea inhabitants is predominantly dark in color from pink-brown to black. Although there are also colorless species, through the transparent skin of which the muscles are visible.

The size of an adult sea slug is only 25-30 cm. The head is pronounced and strongly flattened. A well-developed tail makes up more than half the body length. The fish uses its powerful tail and well-developed fins for movement.

Jellyfish traditionally live in the upper layers of water. But bentocodon feels comfortable at a depth of about 750 meters. Outwardly, the amazing inhabitant of the Mariana Trench resembles a red flying saucer, D 2-3 cm. The edges of the “plate” are framed by 1.5 thousand thin tentacles, which help the jellyfish navigate in space and move quickly, overcoming the water column.


Bentocodon feeds on unicellular and crustaceans, which in the depths of the sea exhibit bioluminescent properties. According to marine biologists, the red color was given by nature to these jellyfish for the purpose of camouflage. If they had a transparent color, like their amphibians, then when swallowing glow-in-the-dark crustaceans, they would immediately become noticeable to larger predators.

Macropina barrel eye

Among the amazing inhabitants of the Mariana Trench, the unusual fish called smallmouth macropina. She was awarded by nature with a transparent head. The fish's eyes, located deep inside the transparent dome, can rotate in different directions. This allows the barrel eye to search in all directions without moving, even in dim and diffused light. Located at the front of the head, the false eyes are actually olfactory organs.


The laterally compressed body of the fish is shaped like a torpedo. Thanks to this structure, it is able to “hang” in one place for several hours. To accelerate the body, the macropin simply presses its fins to the body and begins to actively work with its tail.

This cute animal, living at a depth of 7 thousand meters, is the deepest-sea octopus known to science. Due to its wide bell-shaped head and sweeping elephant ears, it is often called the Dumbo octopus.


The deep-sea creature has a soft semi-gelatinous body and two fins located on the mantle, connected by wide membranes. The octopus carries out hovering movements above the bottom surface due to the operation of a siphon funnel.

Hovering along the seabed, it looks out for prey - bivalves, worm-like animals and crustaceans. Unlike most cephalopods, Dumbo does not peck its prey with beak-like jaws, but swallows it whole.

Small fish with bulging telescopic eyes and huge open mouths live at a depth of 200-600 meters. They got their name from their characteristic body shape, which resembles a chopping tool equipped with a short handle.


Hatchetfish living in the depths of the Mariana Trench have photophores. Special luminescent organs are located in the lower half of the body in small groups along the abdomen. By emitting diffused light, they create an anti-shadow effect. This makes hatchets less noticeable to bottom-dwelling predators.

Osedax Bone Eaters

Among those who live at the bottom of the Mariana Trench are polychaete worms. They reach a length of only 5-7 cm. Osedaxes use substances contained in the bones of dead sea inhabitants as food.

Secreting an acidic substance, they penetrate the skeleton, extracting from it all the microelements necessary for life. Tiny bone eaters breathe through fluffy appendages on their bodies that can extract oxygen from water.


The way these creatures adapt is no less interesting. Males, which are tens of times smaller in size than females, live on the bodies of their females. Up to a hundred males can coexist simultaneously inside the dense gelatinous cone that frames the body. They leave their shelter only at moments when the female breadwinner finds a new source of food.

Active bacteria

During the latest expedition, Danish scientists discovered depressions and colonies of active bacteria at the bottom, which are of great importance in maintaining the ocean carbon cycle.

It is noteworthy that at a depth of 11 km, bacteria are 2 times more active than their counterparts, but living at a depth of 6 km. Scientists explain this by the need to process colossal volumes of organic material that fall here, falling from shallower depths, and as a result of earthquakes.

Underwater monsters

The huge thickness of the ocean in the Mariana Trench is filled not only with cute and harmless creatures. The deepest monsters leave the most indelible impression.

Unlike the above-mentioned inhabitants of the Mariana Trench, the eaglorot has a very menacing appearance. Its long body is covered with slippery, scaleless skin, and its terrible muzzle is “decorated” with huge teeth. The monster lives at a depth of 1800 m.

Since the sun's rays practically do not penetrate into the depths of the trench, many of its inhabitants have the ability to glow in the dark. Eggworm is no exception.


On the body of the fish there are photophores - luminescent glands. The deep-sea inhabitant uses them for three purposes at once: to protect himself from large predators, communicate with his own kind, and attract small fish. During the hunt, the needle mouth also uses a special whisker - a luminous thickening. The potential victim mistakes the luminous strip for a small fish and eventually falls for the bait.

The fish is amazing not only in appearance, but also in its way of life. She received the nickname “angler fish” for a remarkable appendage on her head filled with bioluminescent bacteria. Attracted by the glow of the “fishing rod,” the potential victim swims to a close distance. The angler can only open his mouth towards her.


These deep-sea predators are very voracious. To accept prey that exceeds the size of the predator itself, the fish is able to stretch the walls of its stomach. For this reason, if an anglerfish attacks a prey that is too large, both may die as a result.

The predator has a very unusual appearance: a long body with short fins, a terrifying muzzle with a giant beak-like nose, huge jaws moving forward and unexpectedly pink skin.

Biologists believe that a long beak-shaped outgrowth is necessary for the predator to find food in pitch darkness. For such an unusual and even scary appearance, the predator is often called the goblin shark.


It is noteworthy that goblin sharks do not have a swim bladder. This is partially compensated by an enlarged liver, the weight of which in relation to the body can be up to 25%.

You can meet a predator only at a depth of at least 900 m. It is noteworthy that the older the individual, the deeper it will live. But even adult goblin sharks cannot boast of impressive sizes: the body length is on average 3-3.5 m, and the weight is about 200 kg.

frilled shark

This dangerous creature living in the depths of the Mariana Trench is rightfully considered the king underwater world. The most ancient species of sharks has a serpentine-shaped body covered with folded skin. The gill membranes intersecting in the throat area form a wide bag from skin folds that looks like a wavy cloak 1.5-1.8 meters long.

The prehistoric monster has a primitive structure: the spine is not divided into vertebrae, all fins are concentrated in one area, the caudal fin consists of only one accessory. The main pride of the cape bearer is its mouth, studded with 3 hundred teeth arranged in several rows.

Frilled sharks live at a depth of more than 1.5 thousand meters. They feed on cephalopods, crustaceans and small fish. They attack by shooting out their entire body, like snakes. By closing the gill slits, they can create negative pressure in the mouth, literally sucking in their victims whole.

It is extremely rare for people to see cape-bearers when, due to a lack of food or changes in temperature, they rise closer to the surface.

Even though the oceans are closer to us than distant planets solar system, humans have explored just five percent of the ocean floor, which remains one of our planet's greatest mysteries.

The deepest part of the ocean - the Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is one of the most famous places, about which we still do not know very much.

With water pressure that is a thousand times greater than at sea level, diving into this place is akin to suicide.

But thanks to modern technology and a few brave souls who risked their lives and went down there, we learned a lot of interesting things about this amazing place.

Mariana Trench on the map. Where is it?

The Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean east (about 200 km) of the 15 Mariana Islands near Guam. It is a crescent-shaped trench in earth's crust about 2550 km long and 69 km wide on average.

The coordinates of the Mariana Trench are 11°22′ north latitude and 142°35′ east longitude.

Depth of the Mariana Trench

According to the latest research in 2011, the depth of the deepest point of the Mariana Trench is about 10,994 meters ± 40 meters. For comparison, the height of the high peak world - Everest is 8,848 meters. This means that if Everest were in the Mariana Trench, it would be covered by another 2.1 km of water.

Read also: The deepest places on Earth

Here are others Interesting Facts about what can be found 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. Temperatures here reach just above zero, varying from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius.

However, at a depth of about 1.6 km from the surface of the Pacific Ocean there are hydrothermal vents called “black smokers”. They shoot water that heats up to 450 degrees Celsius.

This water is rich in minerals that help support life in the area. Despite the temperature of the water, which is hundreds of degrees above the boiling point, it does not 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, giant 10-centimeter amoebae called xenophyophores were discovered at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

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

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

3. Shellfish

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

How the mollusks preserved their shells under such pressure remains unknown.

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

LIFE IN utter darkness

In the course of further research using unmanned deep-sea vehicles, it turned out that at the bottom of the depression, despite the terrifying water pressure, a wide variety of species of living organisms live. Giant 10-centimeter amoebas - xenophyophores, which under normal terrestrial conditions can only be seen with a microscope, amazing two-meter worms, no less huge starfish, mutant octopuses and, naturally, fish.

The latter amaze with their terrifying appearance. Their distinctive feature is a huge mouth and many teeth. Many spread their jaws so wide that even a small predator can swallow whole an animal larger than itself.

There are also unusual creatures, reaching a two-meter size with a soft jelly-like body, which has no analogues in nature.

It would seem that at such a depth the temperature should be at Antarctic levels. However, Challenger Deep contains hydrothermal vents called “black smokers.” They constantly heat the water and thereby maintain the overall temperature in the depression at 1-4 degrees Celsius.

The inhabitants of the Mariana Trench live in pitch darkness, some of them are blind, others have huge telescopic eyes that catch the slightest glare of light. Some individuals have “lanterns” on their heads that emit different colors.

There are fish in whose bodies a luminous liquid accumulates. When they sense danger, they splash this liquid towards the enemy and hide behind this “curtain of light.” The appearance of such animals is very unusual for our perception and can cause disgust and even inspire a feeling of fear.

But it is obvious that not all the mysteries of the Mariana Trench have yet been solved. Some strange animals of truly incredible size live in the depths!

THE LIZARD TRIED TO CHEAT THE BATHYSCAPH LIKE A NUT

Sometimes on the shore, not far from the Mariana Trench, people find the bodies of dead 40-meter monsters. Giant teeth were also discovered in those places. Scientists have proven that they belong to a multi-ton prehistoric megalodon shark, the span of which reached two meters.

These sharks were thought to have gone extinct about three million years ago, but the teeth found are much younger. So have the ancient monsters really disappeared?

In 2003, another sensational results of research into the Mariana Trench were published in the United States. Scientists have submerged an unmanned platform equipped with searchlights, sensitive video systems and microphones in the deepest part of the world's oceans.

The platform was lowered on 6 inch-section steel cables. At first, the technology did not provide any unusual information. But a few hours after the dive, the silhouettes of strange large objects (at least 12-16 meters) began to flash on the monitor screens in the light of powerful spotlights, and at that time the microphones transmitted sharp sounds to the recording devices - the grinding of iron and dull, uniform blows on metal.

When the platform was raised (without being lowered to the bottom due to incomprehensible obstacles that prevented the descent), it was discovered that the powerful steel structures were bent, and the steel cables seemed to have been sawed off. A little more - and the platform would forever remain the Challenger Deep.

Previously, something similar happened to the German device “Hayfish”. Having descended to a depth of 7 kilometers, he suddenly refused to emerge. To find out what was wrong, the researchers turned on an infrared camera.

What they saw in the next few seconds seemed to them a collective hallucination: a huge prehistoric lizard, clinging to the bathyscaphe with its teeth, tried to chew it like a nut.

Having recovered from the shock, the scientists activated the so-called electric gun, and the monster, struck by a powerful discharge, hastened to retreat.

At the bottom of the Mariana Trench

4. Pure liquid carbon dioxide

The Champagne hydrothermal vent of 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.

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

The bottom of the depression 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

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

In this pit, called the "cauldron", the bubbling black emulsion boils at 187 degrees Celsius. Although scientists have not been able to explore this site in detail, it is possible that even more liquid sulfur is contained deeper. This 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.

At the end of 2011, four stone bridges were discovered in the Mariana Trench, 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 Dutton Ridge bridges, which was opened in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. In the most high point, the ridge reaches 2.5 km above the Challenger Deep.

Like many aspects of the Mariana Trench, the purpose of these bridges remains unclear. However, the very fact that these formations were discovered in one of the most mysterious and unexplored places is surprising.

8. James Cameron's Dive into the Mariana Trench

Since the discovery of the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep, in 1875, only three people have visited it. The first were American Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard, who dived on January 23, 1960 on the ship Trieste.

52 years later, another person dared to dive here - the famous film director James Cameron. So on March 26, 2012, Cameron went down to the bottom and took several photographs.

Read also: James Cameron returned from the bottom of the sea

During James Cameron's 2012 dive into the Challenger Deep on the DeepSea Challenge submersible, he attempted to observe everything that was happening in the area until mechanical problems forced him to the surface.

While he was at the deepest point of the world's oceans, he came to the shocking conclusion that he was completely alone. There were no scary sea monsters or any miracles in the Mariana Trench. According to Cameron, the very bottom of the ocean was "lunar...empty...lonely" and he felt "complete isolation from all humanity."

9. Mariana Trench (video)

10. The Mariana Trench in the ocean is the largest nature reserve

The Mariana Trench is a US national monument and the largest marine sanctuary in the world.

Since it is a monument, there are a number of rules for those who want to visit this place. Within its borders, fishing and mining are strictly prohibited. However, swimming is allowed here, so you could be the next one to venture into the deepest place in the ocean.

WHO IS THE REAL “OWNER” OF PLANET EARTH

But it's not just fantastic monsters that are captured by deep-sea cameras. In the summer of 2012, the unmanned deep-sea vehicle Titan, launched from the research vessel Rick Mesenger, was in the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10,000 meters. His main goal was to film and photograph various underwater objects.

Suddenly the cameras recorded a strange multiple shine of a material very similar to metal. And then, several tens of meters from the device, several large objects appeared in the light of the spotlight.

Having approached these objects to the maximum allowable distance, the Titan displayed a very unusual picture on the monitors of the scientists on the Rick Mesenger. On an area of ​​approximately a square kilometer there were about 50 large cylindrical objects, very similar to... flying saucers!

A few minutes after the “UFO airfield” was recorded, the Titan stopped communicating and never surfaced.

There are a lot of well-known facts that, if they do not confirm the possibility of the existence of intelligent creatures in the depths of the sea, then, in any case, fully explain why modern science still knows nothing about them.

Firstly, man's native habitat - the earth's surface - occupies only a little more than a quarter of the land surface. So our planet could well be called the Ocean planet rather than the Earth.

Secondly, as everyone knows, life originated in water, so marine intelligence (if it exists) is about one and a half million years older than humans.

That is why, according to some experts, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, thanks to the presence of active hydrothermal springs, not only entire colonies of prehistoric animals that have survived to this day can exist, but also an underwater civilization of intelligent creatures unknown to earthlings! The “fourth pole” of the Earth, in the opinion of scientists, is the most suitable place for them to live.

And once again the question arises: is man the only “master” of planet Earth?

FIELD RESEARCH IS PLANNED FOR SUMMER 2015

The third person in the entire history of exploration of the Mariana Trench to descend to its bottom was James Cameron exactly three years ago.

“Almost everything on the earth’s land has been explored,” he explained his decision. — In space, bosses prefer to send people circling around the Earth, and send machine guns to other planets. For the joys of discovering the unknown, there is only one field of activity left - the ocean. Only about 3% of its water volume has been studied, and what’s next is unknown.”

On the DeepSes Challenge bathyscaphe, being in a half-bent state, since the internal diameter of the device did not exceed 109 cm, the famous film director observed everything that was happening in this place until mechanical problems forced him to rise from the surface.

Cameron managed to take samples of rocks and living organisms from the bottom, as well as film with 3D cameras. Subsequently, these shots formed the basis of a documentary film.

However, he never saw any of the terrible sea monsters. According to him, the very bottom of the ocean was “lunar... empty... lonely,” and he felt “complete isolation from all humanity.”

Meanwhile, in the telecommunications laboratory of Tomsk Polytechnic University Together with the Institute of Marine Technology Problems of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the development of a domestic apparatus for deep-sea research, which can descend to a depth of 12 kilometers, is in full swing.

Specialists working on the bathyscaphe declare that there are no analogues to the equipment they are developing in the world, and “field” studies of the sample in the waters of the Pacific Ocean are planned for the summer of 2015.

The famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov also began working on the project “Diving into the Mariana Trench in a Bathyscaphe.” According to him, his goal is not just to touch the bottom of the deepest depression of the World Ocean, but also to spend two whole days there, conducting unique research.

The bathyscaphe is designed to accommodate two people and will be designed and built by an Australian company.


It would seem that by the twenty-first century, humanity knows everything about our planet and there are no blank spots left on the maps. But don’t forget that about 90% of the ocean floor is still covered not only with thick water, but also with 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 believed that this is akin to suicide.

Harsh conditions

The Mariana Trench is a tectonic submarine fault and has a V-shaped silhouette, with steep slopes and a flat bottom, about 5 km wide. At the depth there are also peculiar underwater mountains about two kilometers high. The deepest point of 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 the Earth's normal atmospheric pressure. Just imagine, a whole ton of weight falls on one square centimeter of surface. Titanium alloys can barely withstand such loads. If there had been a person here, he would have been torn to pieces at that very second. It is curious that the water temperature at such a depth is about 4 degrees plus. All thanks to the oceanic hydrothermal vents “black smokers”, which, closer to the surface of the ocean, emit 450-degree jets.

The colossal pressure does not allow the water to boil and the environment is only slightly heated. 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 aquatic environment chemical microelements and, according to scientists, create good conditions for the emergence of new forms of life.

Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench

The big discovery was the fact that at a depth of more than 6000 m, under incredible pressure, the absence of sunlight and zero temperatures, life is in full swing. Various types of bacteria and protozoa live at the bottom, sea ​​cucumbers and amphipods, mollusk shells and luminous octopuses, bizarrely shaped starfish, blind giant worms and flat fish with periscope eyes.

New species of scorpionfish and anglerfish have been discovered. The peculiarity of these frightening fish is the presence of bioluminescent luminous appendages that hang down like a fishing rod. Seeing a light in the pitch darkness, the prey swims towards the light and ends up in the toothy mouth of a predator. The attention of doctors was especially attracted by one of the species of isopods, because the substance it secretes may help develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

What shocked the public the most were the huge xenophyophore amoebas. Their size in the Mariana Trench reaches 10 cm, while all previously known species of protozoa can hardly be seen under a microscope. A unique feature of xenophyophores is that they are resistant to substances such as mercury, uranium, and lead that are potent and destructive to all living things.

Inexplicable

In the mid-nineties, newspapers were full of headlines about a certain monster hiding at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The story goes that the research vessel Glomar Challenger, plunging an instrument into the abyss to study the ocean depths, encountered difficulties. At some point, the sensors recorded a terrible noise and grinding sound. We had to urgently remove the device from the water. It turned out to be badly damaged, the iron body of the device was badly twisted, and the reliable metal cable almost broke, as if someone wanted to bite it.

A similar incident happened to a group of German scientists when, according to the team, a huge lizard attacked the Highfish probe, which was lowered into the water. It was possible to get rid of it only by intimidating it 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.

In the 20s of the last century, fishermen from Australia said that they saw a huge white shark about 30 m long. Whereas individuals of this species known to science do not exceed five meters. The description of the Australians was completely consistent 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 popular belief, Megalodons went 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 does the seabed hide?

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Everything that we now know about the Mariana Trench was obtained thanks to brave researchers who were not afraid of the 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 using technologies that are improving every year. Various equipment with sensors and probes with video and photo cameras were immersed at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

The first to study the ocean abyss were researchers from the Challenger ship. The deepest point on the planet in the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep, was named after this vessel.

The first to personally visit a depth of eleven thousand meters were the Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and the American military man Don Walsh. In 1960, they plunged into the Mariana Trench on a deep-sea vessel. Only 127 mm separated them from kilometers of frightening uncertainty. armored steel.

Only our contemporary, the famous director James Cameron, creator of the films “Titanic” and “Avatar,” decided to repeat their feat. In 2012, he made this dive alone on the DeepSea Challenge submersible. By taking soil and water samples from the bottom of the Mariana Trench, Cameron helped scientists make many important discoveries. However, what he saw was silent silence. He did not encounter any monsters or strange phenomena in the abyss. James compares his adventure to a flight into space - "complete isolation from all humanity."