The Mariana Trench is the deepest place on our planet. I think almost everyone has heard about it or studied it at school, but I myself, for example, have long forgotten both its depth and the facts about how it was measured and studied. So I decided to “refresh” my and your memory
This absolute depth got its name thanks to the nearby Mariana Islands. The entire depression stretches along the islands for one and a half thousand kilometers and has a characteristic V-shaped profile. In fact, this is an ordinary tectonic fault, the place where the Pacific plate comes under the Philippine plate, just Mariana Trench- this is the deepest place of its kind) Its slopes are steep, on average about 7-9°, and the bottom is flat, 1 to 5 kilometers wide, and divided by rapids into several closed areas. Bottom pressure Mariana Trench reaches 108.6 MPa - this is more than 1100 times more than usual atmospheric pressure!
The first who dared to challenge the abyss were the British - the three-masted military corvette Challenger with sail equipment was rebuilt into an oceanographic vessel for hydrological, geological, chemical, biological and meteorological work back in 1872. But the first data on the depth of the Mariana Trench were obtained only in 1951 - according to measurements, the depth of the trench was declared equal to 10,863 m. After that, the deepest point of the Mariana Trench began to be called the “Challenger Deep”. It’s hard to imagine that the depths of the Mariana Trench could easily accommodate the most high mountain of our planet is Everest, and above it there will still be more than a kilometer of water left to the surface... Of course, it will fit not in area, but solely in height, but the numbers are still amazing...
The next researchers of the Mariana Trench were already Soviet scientists - in 1957, during the 25th voyage of the Soviet research vessel Vityaz, they not only declared the maximum depth of the trench equal to 11,022 meters, but also established the presence of life at depths of more than 7,000 meters , thereby refuting the prevailing idea at that time about the impossibility of life at depths of more than 6000-7000 meters. In 1992, “Vityaz” was transferred to the newly formed Museum of the World Ocean. The ship was repaired at the plant for two years, and on July 12, 1994, it was permanently moored at the museum pier in the very center of Kaliningrad
On January 23, 1960, the first and only human dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench took place. Thus, the only people who visited “the bottom of the Earth” were US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard
During the dive, they were protected by the armored, 127-millimeter-thick walls of the bathyscaphe called “Trieste.”
The bathyscaphe was named after the Italian city of Trieste, where the main work on its creation was carried out. According to the instruments on board the Trieste, Walsh and Picard dived to a depth of 11,521 meters, but later this figure was slightly adjusted - 10,918 meters
The dive took about five hours, and the ascent took about three hours; the researchers spent only 12 minutes at the bottom. But this time was enough for them to make a sensational discovery - at the bottom they found flat fish up to 30 cm in size, similar to flounder !
Research in 1995 showed that the depth of the Mariana Trench is about 10,920 m, and the Japanese Kaik? probe, lowered into the Challenger Deep on March 24, 1997, recorded a depth of 10,911.4 meters. Below is a diagram of the depression - when clicked, it will open in a new window in normal size
The Mariana Trench has repeatedly frightened researchers with the monsters lurking in its depths. For the first time, the expedition of the American research vessel Glomar Challenger encountered the unknown. Some time after the descent of the apparatus began, the device recording sounds began to transmit to the surface some kind of metallic grinding sound, reminiscent of the sound of sawing metal. At this time, some unclear shadows appeared on the monitor, similar to giant fairy-tale dragons with several heads and tails. An hour later, scientists became worried that the unique equipment, made in a NASA laboratory from beams of ultra-strong titanium-cobalt steel, having a spherical design, the so-called “hedgehog” with a diameter of about 9 m, could remain in the abyss of the Mariana Trench forever - so it was decided to immediately raise apparatus on board the ship. The “hedgehog” was extracted from the depths for more than eight hours, and as soon as it appeared on the surface, it was immediately placed on a special raft. The television camera and echo sounder were lifted onto the deck of the Glomar Challenger. The researchers were horrified when they saw how deformed the strongest steel beams of the structure were; as for the 20-centimeter steel cable on which the “hedgehog” was lowered, the scientists were not mistaken in the nature of the sounds transmitted from the watery abyss - the cable was half sawn through. Who tried to leave the device at depth and why will forever remain a mystery. Details of this incident were published in 1996 by the New York Times.
Another collision with the inexplicable in the depths of the Mariana Trench happened with the German research vehicle Haifish with a crew on board. At a depth of 7 km, the device suddenly stopped moving. To find out the cause of the problem, the hydronauts turned on the infrared camera... What they saw in the next few seconds seemed to them a collective hallucination: a huge prehistoric lizard, sinking its teeth into the bathyscaphe, tried to chew it like a nut. Having recovered from the shock, the crew activated a device called an “electric gun”, and the monster, struck by a powerful discharge, disappeared into the abyss...
On May 31, 2009, the automatic underwater vehicle Nereus sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. According to measurements, it fell 10,902 meters below sea level
At the bottom, Nereus filmed a video, took some photographs, and even collected sediment samples at the bottom.
Thanks to modern technologies, researchers were able to capture few representatives Mariana Trench, I suggest you get to know them too :)
So, now we know that different octopuses live in the Mariana depths
Scary and not so scary fish)
And various other strange creatures :)
Perhaps there is not much time left until technology makes it possible to get acquainted with the inhabitants in all their diversity Mariana Trench and other ocean depths, but for now we have what we have
Now anyone can watch the fantastic underwater world of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on our planet, captured on video, or even enjoy a live video broadcast from an 11-kilometer depth. But until relatively recently, the Mariana Trench was considered the most unexplored point on the map of the Earth.
Sensational discovery by the Challenger team
We also know from the school curriculum that the highest point on the earth’s surface is the peak of Mount Everest (8848 m), but the lowest is hidden under the waters Pacific Ocean and is located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench (10994 m). We know quite a lot about Everest; climbers have conquered its peak more than once; there are enough photographs of this mountain taken both from the ground and from space. If Everest is all in plain sight and does not pose any mystery to scientists, then the depths of the Mariana Trench keep many secrets, because getting to its bottom requires this moment Only three daredevils succeeded.
The Mariana Trench is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean; it got its name from the Mariana Islands, which are located next to it. A place unique in depth seabed received the status of a US national monument; fishing and mining are prohibited here; in fact, it is a huge marine reserve. The shape of the depression is similar to a huge crescent, reaching 2550 km in length and 69 km in width. The bottom of the depression has a width of 1 to 5 km. The deepest point of the depression (10,994 m below sea level) was named “Challenger Deep” in honor of the British ship of the same name.
The honor of discovering the Mariana Trench belongs to the team of the British research vessel Challenger, which in 1872 carried out depth measurements at a number of points in the Pacific Ocean. When the ship found itself in the area of the Mariana Islands, during the next depth measurement a hitch arose: the kilometer-long rope all went overboard, but it was not possible to reach the bottom. At the captain’s direction, a couple more kilometer sections were added to the rope, but, to everyone’s surprise, they were not enough and had to be added again and again. Then it was possible to establish a depth of 8367 meters, which, as it became known later, was significantly different from the real one. However, the underestimated value was quite enough to understand: the deepest place has been discovered in the World Ocean.
It is amazing that already in the 20th century, in 1951, it was the British who, using a deep-sea echo sounder, clarified the data of their compatriots; this time the maximum depth of the depression was more significant - 10,863 meters. Six years later, Soviet scientists began studying the Mariana Trench, arriving in this area of the Pacific Ocean on the research vessel Vityaz. Using special equipment, they recorded the maximum depth of the depression at 11,022 meters, and most importantly, they were able to establish the presence of life at a depth of about 7,000 meters. It is worth noting that in the scientific world at that time there was an opinion that due to the monstrous pressure and lack of light at such depths, there were no manifestations of life.
Dive into the world of silence and darkness
In 1960, people visited the bottom of the depression for the first time. How difficult and dangerous such a dive was can be judged by the colossal water pressure, which at the lowest point of the depression is 1072 times higher than the average atmospheric pressure. The dive to the bottom of the depression using the Trieste bathyscaphe was carried out by US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and researcher Jacques Picard. Bathyscaphe "Trieste" with walls 13 cm thick was created in the Italian city of the same name and was a rather massive structure.
They lowered the submersible to the bottom for five long hours; Despite such a long descent, the researchers spent only 20 minutes at the bottom at a depth of 10,911 meters; it took them about 3 hours to rise. Within minutes of being in the abyss, Walsh and Picard were able to make a very impressive discovery: they saw two 30-centimeter flat fish, similar to flounder, that swam past their porthole. Their presence at such a depth became a real scientific sensation!
In addition to discovering the presence of life at such a mind-boggling depth, Jacques Piccard was able to experimentally refute the then prevailing opinion that at depths of more than 6000 m there is no upward movement of water masses. From an environmental point of view it was the most important discovery, because some nuclear powers were planning to bury radioactive waste in the Mariana Trench. It turns out that Picard prevented large-scale radioactive contamination of the Pacific Ocean!
After the dive of Walsh and Picard, for a long period only unmanned automatic bathyscaphes descended into the Mariana Trench, and there were only a few of them, because they were very expensive. For example, on May 31, 2009, the American deep-sea vehicle Nereus reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench. He not only took underwater photography and video at incredible depths, but also took soil samples. The instruments of the deep-sea vehicle recorded the depth it reached at 10,902 meters.
On March 26, 2012, a man again found himself at the bottom of the Mariana Trench; it was the famous director, creator of the legendary film “Titanic,” James Cameron.
He explained his decision to make such a dangerous journey to the “bottom of the Earth” as follows: “Almost everything on the earth’s land has been explored. 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.”
Cameron made a dive on the DeepSea Challenge bathyscaphe, it was not very comfortable, the researcher was in a half-bent state for a long time, since the diameter of the internal space of the device was only about 109 cm. The bathyscaphe, equipped with powerful cameras and unique equipment, allowed the popular director to film fantastic landscapes of himself deepest place on the planet. Later, together with The National Geographic, James Cameron created the exciting documentary “Challenging the Abyss.”
It is worth noting that while at the bottom deepest depression world, Cameron saw neither monsters, nor representatives of an underwater civilization, nor an alien base. However, he literally looked into the eyes of the Challenger Abyss. According to him, during his short trip he experienced sensations indescribable in words. The ocean floor seemed to him not only deserted, but somehow “lunar... lonely.” He experienced a real shock from the feeling of “complete isolation from all humanity.” True, problems with the equipment of the bathyscaphe may have interrupted the “hypnotic” effect of the abyss on the famous director in time, and he rose to the surface among the people.
Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench
In recent years, many discoveries have been made during the study of the Mariana Trench. For example, in bottom soil samples taken by Cameron, scientists found more than 20 thousand of a wide variety of microorganisms. Among the inhabitants of the depression there are also giant 10-centimeter amoebas, called xenophyophores. According to scientists, single-celled amoebas most likely reached such incredible sizes due to the rather hostile environment at a depth of 10.6 km in which they are forced to live. For some reason, high pressure, cold water and lack of light clearly benefited them, contributing to their gigantism.
Mollusks were also discovered in the Mariana Trench. It is unclear how their shells withstand enormous water pressure, but they feel very comfortable at depth, and are located next to hydrothermal vents that emit hydrogen sulfide, which is lethal to ordinary mollusks. However, local mollusks, having demonstrated incredible abilities for chemistry, somehow adapted to process this destructive gas into protein, which allowed them to live where, at first
look, it’s impossible to live.
Many of the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench are quite unusual. For example, scientists discovered here a fish with a transparent head, in the center of which are its eyes. Thus, during the course of evolution, the eyes of the fish received reliable protection from possible injury. At great depths there are many bizarre and sometimes even scary fish; here we managed to capture on video a fantastically beautiful jellyfish. Of course, we don’t yet know all the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench; in this regard, scientists still have many discoveries to make.
There are a lot of interesting things in this mysterious place and for geologists. Thus, in a depression at a depth of 414 meters, the Daikoku volcano was discovered, in the crater of which there is a lake of seething molten sulfur right under the water. As scientists say, the only analogue of such a lake known to them is only on Jupiter’s satellite, Io. Also in the Mariana Trench, scientists found the only underwater source of liquid carbon dioxide on earth, called “Champagne” in honor of the famous French
alcoholic drink. There are also so-called black smokers in the depression, these are hydro thermal springs, operating at a depth of about 2 kilometers, thanks to them the water temperature in the Mariana Trench is maintained within fairly favorable limits - from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius.
At the end of 2011, scientists discovered very mysterious structures in the Mariana Trench; these are four stone “bridges” stretching from one end of the trench to the other for 69 kilometers. Scientists are still at a loss to explain how these “bridges” arose; they believe that they were formed at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.
The study of the Mariana Trench continues. This year, from April to July, scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration worked here on the Okeanos Explorer vessel. Their ship was equipped with a remotely controlled vehicle, which was used to film video underwater world the deepest place in the world's oceans. The video broadcast from the bottom of the depression could be seen not only by scientists, but also by Internet users.
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What every schoolchild knows from the subject of geography: the most high point planets - Mount Everest (8848 m), and the lowest is the Mariana Trench. The Trench is the deepest and most mysterious point on our planet - despite the fact that the oceans are closer than cosmic stars, humanity has only managed to explore 5 percent of the ocean depths.
The depression is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and is V-shaped, which flows around 1500 km 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 cut through - unknown creatures clearly did not tolerate strangers in their underwater kingdom... Details about this dangerous journey in 1996 were published in the New York Times.
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 became the basis for a documentary on the National Geographic Channel. Russia is not lagging behind - for an expedition to the bottom depths of the Mariana Trench ours is also preparing famous traveler Fedor Konyukhov. 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"
ETNOMIR, 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 an exciting walk, especially since within the framework of the latter you can make an entire 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.
What do we know about the deep place in the World Ocean? This is the Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench.
What is its depth? This is not a simple question...
But definitely not 14 kilometers!
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 1,100 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure, reaching 3,150 kg/cm2. Temperatures at the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) are surprisingly high thanks to 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.
A measurement made in 1899 from the American coal miner Nero showed a 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. It is strange that no one remembered the anniversary date of the generally epoch-making discovery of Russian oceanologists. However, they say that when taking readings, changing environmental conditions at different depths were 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.
This is what the most durable hulls of underwater vehicles look like after testing at extreme pressure. Photo: Sergey Ptichkin / RG
And now it is reported that Russia has developed an autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of operating at a depth of 14 kilometers. From this it is concluded that our military oceanologists have discovered a depression in the World Ocean deeper than the Mariana Trench.
The message that the device was created and was tested at a pressure corresponding to a depth of 14,000 meters was made during an ordinary press trip of journalists to one of the leading scientific centers involved, among other things, in deep-sea vehicles. It’s even strange that no one paid attention to this sensation and has not yet voiced it. And the developers themselves did not particularly open up. Or maybe they are just playing it safe and want to get reinforced concrete evidence? And now we have every reason to expect a new scientific sensation.
It was decided to create an uninhabited deep-sea vehicle capable of withstanding pressure much higher than what exists in the Mariana Trench. The device is ready for use. If the depth is confirmed, it will become a super sensation. If not, the device will work to the maximum in the same Mariana Trench, studying it up and down. In addition, the developers claim that with not very complicated modifications, the AUV can be made habitable. And this will be comparable to manned flights into deep space.
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). This, by the way, is less than the number of people who have been to the Moon.
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).
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.
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 the Russian Mir submersibles into 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 twice as fast as the Trieste—and spent 2 hours 36 minutes at a depth of 10,898 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 km2. 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 borders of the water area. The Challenger Deep is not included in this zone, as it is located on ocean territory Federated States Micronesia.
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