The deepest deep sea trench on earth. What is the deepest ocean on earth
There is no world more amazing than the underwater world. The ocean occupies 2/3 of the earth's surface, and its biomass is ten times greater than the biomass of land. In the oceans and seas of the planet, both the largest animals of the planet - whales, and the smallest microorganisms live. The upper layer of the ocean is essentially a soup of plankton, which is the initial link in the most complex food chain.
But it's on the surface of the water. And the depths of the world's oceans remain the most unsolved mystery planet Earth.
The study of the depths of the ocean is associated with a mass of technical and psychological difficulties. A person has learned to climb up already quite confidently, and even conquering highest point planet - Everest - does not cause a storm of delight in the layman. For 57 years that have passed since the first conquest of the Roof of the World, dozens of daredevils have visited the mark of 8848 meters. The same can be said about all other peaks. But here on the opposite point of the Earth - at the bottom Mariana Trench people have only visited once. Needless to say, the heroes who have sunk to the very bottom Pacific Ocean, saw only a small fraction of what the almost eleven-kilometer water column stores in itself.
A more or less detailed study of the ocean and the Mariana Trench as its deepest point began in the middle of the 20th century. First, an American expedition on a converted military ship Challenger measured the depth, showing a result of 10863 meters, as evidenced by a documentary book that can be purchased at vipbook.info. A few years later soviet expedition clarified the result - 11022 meters. In addition to this, Soviet scientists pulled out from the abyss evidence of the existence of life at depths where nothing living can exist in our usual understanding.
In 1960, a year before the flight of the first man into space, two heroes in a specially designed bathyscaphe sank to the bottom of the abyss of the Challenger, becoming the only people to this day who have visited such a depth. The depth measured by them was 10918 meters. The water pressure here exceeds the atmospheric pressure by 1100 times, and the temperatures are close to 0 Celsius. And in such incredible conditions, the bathyscaphe pilots saw life! Luminous monsters, unusual to look at, feel great where more than a ton of water presses on every square centimeter! Mutant octopuses, scary glowing one and a half meter worms without a mouth, scary-looking anglerfish with a “lantern” on their foreheads… Such creatures in the familiar world can be found, perhaps, only in science fiction films.
All subsequent dives were carried out using "unmanned" vehicles. High-quality images and soil samples from a depth of 11 kilometers were delivered by the Japanese Nereus submersible robot. But all attempts to learn the secrets of the ocean brought more puzzles than riddles. In the course of some dives of deep-sea vehicles, contacts with hitherto unknown and inexplicable from the point of view of modern science life forms.
So, the expedition of the vessel "Glomar Challenger" during the next dive of the deep-sea "hedgehog", developed by NASA, began to receive sounds from a depth of several thousand meters, similar to the grinding of a saw on metal. Large silhouettes appeared on the TV monitor, similar to fairy-tale dragons with several heads. It was decided to save the unique equipment, and after 8 hours the device was raised to the surface. It turned out that the beams of the structure, made of titanium-cobalt steel, were significantly deformed, and the 20-cm-section cable was half sawn (or gnawed?). Details of this expedition were published in 1996 in the newspaper " NY Times".
A similar meeting with the inhabitants of the abyss occurred with the German crew of the Highfish apparatus. Having dropped to the mark of 7000 meters, the apparatus began to emerge. The hydronauts turned on the camera to find out the cause of the problem - and ... At first, what they saw was mistaken for a collective hallucination - a huge prehistoric lizard tried to gnaw through the bathyscaphe with his teeth like a nut! Fortunately for the researchers, the apparatus was equipped with an "electron gun", and the lizard that received the discharge disappeared into the darkness.
Here it is impossible not to recall the huge half-decomposed carcasses of unknown sea giants periodically ejected to the surface. Perhaps the size of the blue whale is not so record-breaking for the world's oceans? Before modern whales, killer whales, sharks, megalodons swam in the ocean - huge predators, only the width of their mouths reached 2 meters! As previously thought, these giants died out 2 million years ago. But recently, megalodon teeth were raised from the bottom of the oceans, the age of which was determined at 24 and 11 thousand years. In 1918, Australian lobster fishermen saw a translucent white fish at least 35 meters long, which exceeds the maximum known height of a fin whale! Lack of pigmentation is also characteristic of deep-sea animals. Perhaps the megalodon did not die out, but adapted to life in unbearable conditions at a depth of 10 kilometers? By the way, the coelacanth, which Europeans considered extinct in the Mesozoic era, was periodically caught by Indonesian fishermen and sold in the market. Only in the 19th century did Europeans "discover" fish market"extinct" fish from the Mesozoic era. So, perhaps, it is not worth burying other prehistoric animals?
Be that as it may, the oceans still contain many secrets and mysteries that we have yet to give answers to.
Where is the most deep place on the ground? How far is it from the center of the earth? If you put Everest there, will it rise above the surface of the Earth?
Today we will deal with the deepest places, holes, wells, caves, wells in the world, natural and man-made.
1.8 meters
Graves are usually dug at this depth. It is from this depth that the zombies will come out when the time comes.
20 meters
Here are famous Paris catacombs - a network of winding underground tunnels and artificial caves near Paris. The total length, according to various sources, is from 187 to 300 kilometers. Since the end of the 18th century, the remains of almost six million people have been buried in the catacombs.
40 meters
The Hotel Terme Millepini in Italy has adopted this bold strategy by digging a 40-metre-deep tunnel for divers and scuba divers. This is the Y-40 pool. The most interesting point of the deepest is that it is filled thermal water and has a wonderful temperature of 33 degrees Celsius.
105.5 meters
This is the depth Kyiv metro station "Arsenalnaya", which is located on the Svyatoshynsko-Brovarskaya line between the stations "Khreshchatyk" and "Dnepr". This is the deepest metro station in the world.
122 meters
The roots of the tree can penetrate to such a depth. The tree with the deepest roots is a wild ficus growing in Echo Caves near Ohrigstad, South Africa. This tree grows in South Africa. Its roots go to a depth of almost 122 meters.
230 meters
The deepest river This Congo - river in Central Africa. IN downstream Congo breaks through the South Guinea Upland in a deep narrow (in some places no more than 300 meters) gorge, forming Livingston waterfalls (total fall 270 meters), the depths in this section are 230 meters or more, which makes the Congo the most deep river in the world.
240 meters
This is a railway tunnel with a length of 53.85 km. The tunnel descends to a depth of about 240 meters, 100 meters below the seabed. It is the deepest under the seabed and the second longest (after the Gotthard Base Tunnel) railway tunnel in the world.
287 meters
Even deeper is, laid along the bottom of the Sturfjord in the Norwegian province of Møre og Romsdal, connects the cities of Eiksund and Rjanes. Construction began in 2003, the opening ceremony took place on February 17, 2008, and full-fledged traffic was opened on February 23, 2008. With a length of 7765 m, the tunnel goes to a depth of 287 m below sea level - this is the deepest tunnel in the world. The slope of the roadway reaches 9.6%.
382 meters
Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of Brighton and Hove located in East Sussex, England. It is notable for the fact that on its territory there is the deepest well in the world, dug by hand between 1858–1862. The depth of the well is 392 meters.
Of course, it does not look so picturesque, this is just an illustration.
603 meters
Vertigo Cave Vrtoglavica in the Julian Alps. It is located on the territory of Slovenia, near the border with Italy). The cave was discovered by a joint Slovenian-Italian group of speleologists in 1996. Located in the cave world's deepest karst well, its depth is 603 meters.
Fits here easily north tower(its height is 417 m, and taking into account the antenna installed on the roof - 526.3 m).
If you accidentally fall into this hole, you can reach the bottom in 11 seconds.
700 meters
33 miners found themselves under the rubble as a result of August 5, 2010. They spent more than 2 months in captivity at a depth of 700 meters and were considered dead for almost 3 weeks. As a result of 40 days of work, a well was drilled to save the Chilean miners.
970 meters
This the largest dug hole in the earth from the bottom of which you can still see the sky. The Bingham Canyon Quarry in Utah is one of the world's largest man-made formations. After more than 100 years of mining, a large crater 970 meters deep and 4 km wide was formed. This unique canyon was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
This quarry will fit entirely - the most tall building in the world of ever created, which is 828 meters high. And it will not just fit, but more than 140 meters will remain from its “crown” to the surface.
On April 10, 2013, a giant block of earth broke off and rushed into a huge pit in the artificial Bingham Canyon in Utah. Approximately 65 to 70 million cubic meters of earth rattled against the walls of the mine, reaching speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. The event was so powerful that it shook the earth - seismic sensors worked, recording an earthquake. The intensity was measured as 2.5 points on the Richter scale.
1642 meters
Most deep lake on the ground. Modern meaning the maximum depth of the lake is 1642 m.
1857 meters
One of deepest canyons in the world. Located on the Colorado Plateau, Arizona, USA. Depth - more than 1800 m.
2199 meters
So we got to the deepest cave in the world. This is the only famous cave in the world deeper than 2 kilometers. The main entrance to the cave is located at an altitude of about 2250 m above sea level.
3132 meters
To date, the deepest mine is located southwest of Johannesburg. Its depth is 3 kilometers. The elevator takes 4.5 minutes to the very bottom, but you can speed up the process: if a person accidentally falls here, then the flight to the bottom will take him 25 seconds.
3600 meters
A living organism was found at such a depth. About a hundred years ago, the English scientist Edward Forbes claimed that there were no living creatures deeper than 500 meters. But in 2011, nematode worms were found in a gold mine in South Africa. The second name for these 0.5 mm creatures is "the worm from hell."
4500 meters
The deepest mines in the world are located in South Africa: "Tau Tona", "Witwatersrand" - a depth of more than 4500 m, Western Deep Levels Mine (Western mine deep) - 3900 m (De Beers company), Mponeng - 3800 m. The miners have to work in extreme conditions. The heat reaches up to 60 ° C, and at such a depth there is a constant danger of water breakthrough and explosions. These mines produce gold. The journey here takes the miners about 1 hour.
By the way, the Witwatersrand mine produces from 25 to 50% of the gold mined in the world. Mining is also carried out from the deepest mine in the world, Tau-Tona - its depth is more than 4.5 km, the temperature in the workings reaches 52 degrees.
10994 meters
The Mariana Trench (or the Mariana Trench) is an oceanic deep-sea trench in the western Pacific Ocean, the deepest known on Earth. It is named after the nearby Mariana Islands. The most deep point Mariana Trench - "Challenger Deep". According to measurements in 2011, its depth is 10,994 m below sea level.
It's very deep. If Everest 8848 meters high could be placed here, then more than 2 km would still be left from its top to the surface.
Yes, there is a place on Earth about which we know much less than about deep space - mysterious ocean floor. It is believed that world science has not even really begun to study it...
At a depth of 11 kilometers. At the bottom, the water pressure reaches 108.6 MPa, which is approximately 1072 times higher than the normal atmospheric pressure at the level of the World Ocean.
12262 meters
We have reached the deepest well in the world. This . Is in Murmansk region, 10 kilometers west of the city of Zapolyarny. Unlike other ultra-deep wells that were drilled for oil production or exploration, SG-3 was drilled exclusively for research purposes in the place where the Mohorovichic boundary comes close to the Earth's surface.
At a depth of five kilometers, the ambient temperature exceeded 70 ° C, at seven - 120 ° C, and at a depth of 12 kilometers, the sensors recorded 220 ° C.
Kola over deep well, 2007:
The Kola Superdeep was the source of the urban legend about the “well to hell”. This urban legend has been circulating the internet since at least 1997. First time on English language the legend was announced in 1989 on the air of the American television company Trinity Broadcasting Network, which took the story from a Finnish newspaper report published on April Fool's Day. According to this legend, in the very thickness of the earth, at a depth of 12,000 meters, the microphones of scientists recorded cries and groans. The tabloid newspapers write that it is "a voice from the underworld." The Kola super-deep well began to be called the "road to hell" - each new kilometer drilled brought misfortune to the country.
If something is dropped into this hole, 50 seconds will pass before this “something” falls to the bottom.
This is it, the well itself (welded), August 2012:
12376 meters
Which was drilled in Russia on the shelf of Sakhalin Island, is considered the world's deepest oil well. It goes to a depth of about 13 kilometers - this depth is comparable to the height of 14.5 skyscrapers Burj Khalifa, which is still the tallest in the world. This the deepest hole mankind has been able to drill.
On this moment, This the deepest place in the world. And it is only at a depth of about 12.4 km. Is it a lot? Recall that the average distance to the center of the Earth will be 6371.3 kilometers ...
We still know very little about our planet. This is especially true of the depths of the oceans and seas. But even on land there are places that amaze the human imagination. For example, the deepest places on Earth. What we know about them and where the lowest points of the earth's surface are located - more on that later.
IN Everyday life it is rare to find huge holes or cliffs, but our planet has a varied landscape. Along with the highest mountain peaks meet and the deepest places on our planet- How natural origin as well as those created by human hands.
1 642 m
It would be a mistake to assume that the deepest places on Earth are only in the oceans and seas. Baikal has a depth of 1,642 meters and is among the lakes. locals Therefore, Baikal is often called the sea. This depth is explained tectonic origin lakes. Many other records and amazing discoveries are associated with this place. Baikal can be called the largest natural reservoir fresh water on the ground. Exactly this ancient lake on our planet (it is more than 25 million years old) and two-thirds of the flora and fauna of the reservoir are not found anywhere else.
Cave Krubera-Voronya 2 196 m
There are also giants among the caves. The Krubera-Voronya cave (Abkhazia) belongs to the deepest places on Earth. Its depth is 2196 meters. It should be noted that we are talking about the studied part of the cave. It is possible that the next expedition will go even lower and set a new depth record. karst cave consists of wells interconnected by passages and galleries. It was first opened in 1960. Then cavers were able to descend to a depth of 95 meters. The two-kilometer barrier was overcome by the Ukrainian expedition of speleologists in 2004.
TauTona Mine 4,000 m
Tau Tona Mine in South Africa is the deepest mine on Earth. It is located in the Republic of South Africa, not far from Johannesburg. This world's greatest gold mine goes into the ground for 4 kilometers. At this incredible depth lies a whole underground city with a network of kilometer tunnels. To get to their workplace, the miners have to spend about an hour. Working at this depth is associated with big amount hazards are humidity, reaching 100% in some branches of the mine, high air temperature, the risk of explosion from gas leaking into the tunnels and collapse from earthquakes, which occur here quite often. But all the dangers of work and the costs of maintaining the functionality of the mine are generously paid off by the mined gold - in the entire history of the mine's existence, 1,200 tons of precious metal have been mined here.
12,262 m
The deepest well on Earth is the Kola superdeep well, which is located on the territory of Russia. This is one of the most unusual and interesting experiments performed by Soviet scientists. Drilling began in 1970 and had only one goal - to learn more about the Earth's crust. Kola Peninsula chosen for the experiment for the reason that here the oldest rocks of the Earth, about 3 million years old, come to the surface. They were also of great interest to scientists. The depth of the well is 12,262 meters. It allowed to make unexpected discoveries and forced to reconsider scientific ideas about the occurrence of rocks Earth. Unfortunately, the well, created for a purely scientific purpose, did not find application in subsequent years, and a decision was made to conserve it.
9 810 m
In 1873-76, the American oceanographic ship Tuscarora conducted surveys of the seabed for the laying of an underwater cable. Lot abandoned at Japanese islands Izu recorded a depth of 8,500 meters. Later, the Soviet ship "Vityaz" in 1955 installed maximum depth depressions - 9810 meters.
10,542 m
- this is not only one of the deepest places on Earth, the depression is also the narrowest in the Pacific Ocean. The width of the gutter is 59 meters, and the maximum depth is 10,542 meters. The basin is located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In the middle of the last century, Soviet scientists were engaged in its study on the Vityaz ship. No more detailed research has been done. The gutter was opened by the American ship Tuscarora and bore this name for a long time until it was renamed.
10,047 m
Located in the Pacific Ocean off the Kermadec Islands. The maximum depth of the depression is 10,047 meters. Investigated by the Soviet vessel "Vityaz". In 2008, at a depth of 7 kilometers in the Kermadec Trench, a previously unknown species of sea slugs from the snail fish family was discovered. The researchers were also surprised by other abodes of this deepest place on Earth - huge 30-centimeter crustaceans.
10 540 m
Opens the top three deepest points on the planet. 10,540 meters - this is its depth. It was formed millions of years ago as a result of the collision of the earth's plates. Located in the east of the Philippine archipelago. By the way, scientists have long believed that the Philippine depression is the most deep water point Pacific Ocean.
10 882 m
It is located in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, near the islands of Tonga. This area is extremely interesting because it is a very active seismic zone. Several strong earthquakes occur here every year. The depth of the gutter is 10,882 meters. It is only 100 meters smaller than the Mariana Trench. The difference is about a percent, but it puts the Tonga Trench in second place on the list of the deepest places on Earth.
10 994 m
It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and is shaped like a crescent moon. The length of the gutter is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and the deepest point is 10,994 meters. It is called the Challenger Deep.
The deepest place on Earth was discovered in 1875 by the English ship Challenger. To date, the depression is the most studied of all the other deep-sea trenches. They tried to reach its bottom during four dives: in 1960, 1995, 2009 and 2012. IN last time director James Cameron descended into the Mariana Trench all alone. Most of all, the bottom of the trough reminded him of the lifeless lunar surface. But, unlike the Earth's satellite, the Mariana Trench is inhabited by living organisms. Researchers have found toxic amoebae, mollusks and deep-sea fish here that look very frightening. Since there has not been a full-scale study of the trench, except for short-term dives, the Mariana Trench may still hide a lot of interesting things.
Altitude can make you dizzy and make your heart beat wildly. However, much greater sensations can be obtained if you go down to the bottom of the ocean. Especially if you do it over a distance exceeding many kilometers. It is difficult to imagine how far down the deepest depression on Earth goes. And without a doubt, this is the Mariana Trench, which is also called the Mariana Trench for its outward resemblance to a crescent-shaped trench.
Location and size of the Mariana Trench
This chute is located near Mariana Islands, in the Western Pacific. This deepest depression on Earth was formed as a result of the fact that two tectonic plates converged. The deep-sea trench is approximately 2550 km long and 69 km wide. The depth of the depression is at least 11,000 m - the researchers cannot determine the exact figures, which is due to the large temperature difference in different layers, huge pressure and impenetrable darkness in the depression.
The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is considered to be the Chellenger, named after the research vessel of the same name, which sank to the bottom. You can even compare the height of the high mountain Everest with a depression depth - Everest stretches upwards for almost 8900 km, which means that the mountain can completely go under water into this gutter, and from above it will still be covered with at least two kilometers of water.
human research
The Mariana Trench was first explored by man in 1960. It was during this period that underwater technology was created that could lower researchers to the greatest depth to get the required information. Such a technique was a bathyscaphe called Trieste, with the help of which an oceanologist from Switzerland, Jacques Picard, and a soldier, Don Walsh, sank to the bottom.
The surprise of the researchers knew no bounds, because at a depth of 10911 meters, which was then recorded, they found signs of life. It seemed to scientists a little strange, but still it is. The trench is so deep that the rays of the sun do not penetrate there, and therefore many inhabitants of the depression, which are flat fish and some other organisms, do not have eyes.
The next dive took place in 1995 - Japanese researchers already descended to the bottom of the Mariinsky Trench. And in 2009, a special Nereus apparatus descended to the bottom, which took some pictures and collected soil samples for research.
But the lowest point of the deepest trench on Earth was reached by director James Cameron, who made such a deep sea trip in 2012. He carefully prepared for the expedition, hoping to collect excellent material. He sank to the bottom in a bathyscaphe and collected so much information that he subsequently managed to make a film about the deep depression on the ground. The last measurement of the depth of the Mariana Trench was 11,035 meters. However, no matter how much scientists explore the Mariana Trench, there are still a lot of questions and various mysteries that I really want to solve.
The deeper you go under the water, the colder it gets there. But from the surface of the underwater abyss, approximately at a distance of 1600 meters, the water temperature warms up to 450 degrees, which is explained by the presence of hydrothermal sources here. This hot water contains many minerals capable of supporting life at such a depth. However, despite such a high temperature, water does not boil (as it should), and the reason for this is too high water pressure, the value of which exceeds the level of water pressure on the surface by 155 times.
Not less than amazing fact was the discovery by researchers of the incredible size of amoebae (called xenophyophores), which have a unique gift - they survive under the influence of many toxic substances and heavy metals. These single-celled creatures, for sure, acquired their size due to their habitat, but how they manage to not feel the influence of harmful substances that can kill any living creature on Earth is completely incomprehensible.
Close to hydrothermal vents in the deepest depression on Earth, scientists have found molluscs that don't seem to be here. How they manage to live under the highest pressure is also unclear. In addition, the sources located here release in environment hydrogen sulfide, which is deadly poisonous to shellfish. But even this they calmly survive (they convert sulfur compounds into a safe protein) and continue their lives in the deep layers of the Pacific Ocean.
The bottom of the depression is covered with a layer of slimy mud. That is, there is no sand, which is often found at the bottom of reservoirs, but the bottom is paved with crushed shells and the remains of sunken plankton. As the water works on all of this with tremendous pressure, all the residues simply turn into a slimy mud of an unpleasant color.
Scientists even managed to detect liquid carbon dioxide- in deep waters, this is considered a rarity. But perhaps thanks to thermal springs, called "white smokers", life could have appeared at the depth of the gutter.
Another surprising discovery was the discovery in 2011 in Mariana Trench four stone bridges, each of which is 69 km long.
Most likely, their formation occurred at the junction tectonic plates- Philippine and Pacific. One of the discovered bridges, which was found first, is very high - its highest elevation reaches 2500 m. Scientists are still struggling to determine exactly the cause of these bridges, but this still remains a mystery, like much in the history of the appearance of the Mariana Trench .
The bottom of the oceans is uneven, it is cut through by gorges, the depth of which is tens of thousands of meters. The relief was formed millions of years ago due to the movement of tectonic plates - the "shell" of the earth's crust. Due to their continuous movement, the location and shape of the continents and the ocean floor changed. The deepest on the planet is the Pacific Ocean, which at this stage in the development of technology cannot be fully explored.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest on the planet. On its western latitudes lie the continents of Australia and Eurasia, on the south - Antarctica, on the east - South and North America. The length of the Pacific Ocean from south to north is almost 16 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 19 thousand. The area of the ocean, together with its seas, is 178.684 million kilometers, and average depth about 4 kilometers. But there are amazing places in the Pacific Ocean that make it the deepest in the world.
Mariana Trench - the deepest place in the ocean
This deepest crevice got its name in honor of the nearby Mariana Islands. The depth of the Pacific Ocean in this place is 10 kilometers 994 meters. The deepest point of the trough is called "Challenger Abyss". Geographically, the "Abyss" is located 340 km from the southwestern tip of the island of Guam.
If we take Mount Everest for comparison, which, as you know, rises above sea level by 8848 m, it can completely disappear under water and there will still be room.
In 2010, an oceanographic oceanographic expedition from New Hampshire conducted research on the ocean floor in the Mariana Trench. Scientists have discovered four seamounts at least 2.5 kilometers high each, crossing the surface of the trench at the point of contact between the Philippine and Pacific lithospheric plates. According to scientists, these ranges were formed about 180 million years ago as a result of the movement of the above-mentioned plates and the gradual creep of the older and heavier Pacific plate under the Philippine one. The maximum depth of the Pacific Ocean was recorded here.
Diving into the abyss
Into the depths of the Challenger Abyss descended four times deep-sea submersibles with three people:
- Brussels explorer Jacques Picard, together with US Navy lieutenant John Walsh, were the first to dare to look into the face of the abyss. This happened on January 23, 1960. The deepest descent in the world was made on the Trieste bathyscaphe, designed by Auguste Picart, Jacques's father. This, no doubt, feat became a record in the world deep diving. The descent lasted 4 hours 48 minutes, and the ascent 3 hours 15 minutes. Researchers found at the bottom of the gutter large flat fish, resembling a flounder in appearance. was fixed lowest point The oceans - 10 918 meters. Later, Picard wrote the book "11 thousand meters", describing all the moments of the dive.
- On May 31, 1995, a deep-sea Japanese probe was launched into the depression, which recorded a depth of 10,911 m and also discovered ocean inhabitants - microorganisms.
- On May 31, 2009, the Nerey automatic apparatus set off for reconnaissance, which stopped at 10,902 m. He filmed a video, took pictures of the bottom landscape and collected soil samples, in which microorganisms were also found.
- Finally, on March 26, 2012, filmmaker James Cameron accomplished the feat of solo diving into the Challenger Deep. Cameron became the third person on Earth to visit the bottom of the oceans in its deepest place. Single deepsea apparatus The Challendger was equipped with state-of-the-art deep-sea imaging equipment and powerful lighting equipment. Filming was done in 3G format. The Challenger Abyss is featured in documentary James Cameron for the National Geographic Channel.
This basin is located at the junction of the Indo-Australian Platform and the Pacific Plate. Extends from the Kermadec Trench towards the Tonga Islands. Its length is 860 km, and its depth is 10,882 m, which is the record of the Southern Hemisphere and the second deepest on the planet. The Tonga region is notorious for being one of the most active seismic zones.
In 1970, on April 17, when the Apollo 13 spacecraft returned to earth, the fired landing stage containing plutonium fell into the Tonga trench to a depth of 6 km. No attempt was made to extract it from there.
Philippine Trench
The second deepest place in the Pacific Ocean is located in the area Philippine Islands. The recorded depth of the depression is 10,540 m. The depression was formed as a result of the collision of granite and basalt layers, the latter, as a heavier one, undermined the granite layer. The process of meeting two lithospheric plates is called subduction, and the place of "meeting" is the subduction zone. In such places, tsunamis are born and earthquakes occur.
The depression runs along the volcanic ridge Kuril Islands on the border between Japan and Russia. The length of the trench is 1300 km, and the maximum depth is 10500 m. The depression was formed more than 65 million years ago during the Cretaceous period as a result of the collision of two tectonic plates.
It is located near the Kermadec Islands, which is in the northeast of New Zealand and in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The trench was first discovered by the Galatea group from Denmark, and the Soviet research vessel Vityaz studied the bottom of the trench in 1958 and recorded a maximum depth of 10,047 m. In 2008, an unknown species of sea slugs was found at the bottom of the trench, as well as up to 30 cm.
Video: inhabitants of the Mariana Trench
Our blue planet is full of secrets, and we humans strive to comprehend them. We are naturally curious, learning from the past and looking to the future with hope. The ocean is the cradle of mankind. When will he reveal his secrets to us? The greatest depth of the Pacific Ocean, which is known to scientists - are these figures true, or is the incomprehensible hidden under the black water?
