The lowest point on earth is the Mariana Trench. Dive into the world of silence and darkness. Behind the veil of secrecy

Despite the fact that the oceans are closer to us than the outer planets of the solar system, people explored only five percent of the ocean floor, which remains one of the greatest mysteries our planet. deepest part ocean - Mariana Trench or the Mariana Trenchis 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 modern technologies and a few daredevils who, risking their lives, went down there, we learned a lot of interesting things about this amazing place.

Mariana Trench on the map. Where is she?

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

Mariana Trench coordinates: 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 highest peak in the 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.

Here are others Interesting Facts about what you can meet along the way and at the very bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Temperature at the bottom of the Mariana Trench

1. Very hot water

Going down to such a depth, we expect that it will be very cold there. The temperature here reaches just above zero, varying 1 to 4 degrees Celsius.

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

This water is rich in minerals that help support life in the area. Despite the temperature of the water, which is hundreds of degrees above the boiling point, she does not boil here due to incredible pressure, 155 times higher than on the surface.

Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench

2. Giant toxic amoeba

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

These single-celled organisms probably got so big because of the environment they live in at a depth of 10.6 km. Cold temperature, high pressure and no sunlight, most likely contributed to the fact that these amoeba got huge.

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

3. Clams

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

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

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

At the bottom of the Mariana Trench

4. Pure liquid carbon dioxide

hydrothermal source Champagne The Mariana Trench, which lies outside the Okinawa Trench near Taiwan, is the only known underwater area where liquid carbon dioxide can be found. The spring, discovered in 2005, got its name from the bubbles that turned out to be carbon dioxide.

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

5. Slime

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

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

Mariana Trench

6. Liquid sulfur

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

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

According to the Gaia hypothesis, our planet is one self-governing organism in which all living and non-living things are connected to support its life. If this hypothesis is correct, then a number of signals can be observed in the natural cycles and systems of the Earth. So the sulfur compounds created by organisms in the ocean must be stable enough in the water to allow them to pass into the air and back to land again.

7. Bridges

At the end of 2011, in the Mariana Trench, it was discovered four stone bridge , which stretched from one end to the other for 69 km. It seems that they formed at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.

One of the bridges Dutton Ridge, which was discovered back in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. In the high point, the ridge reaches 2.5 km over the Challenger Deep.

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

8James Cameron's dive into the Mariana Trench

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

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

During James Cameron's 2012 dive to the Challenger Deep in a bathyscaphe Deep Sea Challenge, he tried to observe everything that happens in this place, until mechanical problems forced him to rise to the surface.

While he was at the deepest point in 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 mankind".

9. Mariana Trench (video)

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

The Mariana Trench is national monument USA and the largest marine reserve 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 here. However, swimming is allowed here, so you may be the next one to venture into the most deep place in the ocean.

The Mariana Trench is considered the most mysterious and mysterious place our planet. Located in the Pacific Ocean, this deep-sea trench is unsuccessfully "attacked" by scientists from around the world, but detailed information O accurate map the depression and its inhabitants are still missing.

Where is the Mariana Trench

In the southwestern environs of the Pacific Ocean, there is a group of Mariana Islands. Some of them were formed due to volcanic processes in the bowels of our earth, the second part is eastern edge 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 gutter, and, as was the case in the Middle Ages, less developed communal formations became colonies of the countries of Western Europe:

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

After the Spanish-American War, part of the skeletons are passed by the United States. In 1875, the British ship Challenger, whose crew included scientists from America and England, set a record trough depth of more than 8,000 meters by means of a hydrographic lot. 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. Such a discrepancy in the data, and this applies not only to the width, but also to the depth of the depression itself, which is associated with extreme pressure - at the extreme point it reaches 108 MPa, which gives the echo sounder measurements a certain error:

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

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

Width- 4.41 km;
Square- 403701 square meters;
Shelf- rocky, found 4 mountain range height from 1.8 to 2.51 km;
Flora and fauna- plants, oilfish, jellyfish and fish.

With the help of a submersible launched from the research ship Okeanos Explorer, the whole world learned about previously unknown organisms whose habitat exceeds a depth of 6000 meters.

Life in the bottomless darkness

For an accurate picture of the distribution of pressure, 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. Depth is extreme point blue whale dives;
1000 meters: maximum point daylight penetration. Here you can find:
- sperm whale;
- Luminous octopus;
- Predator from the chordate family.
4000 meters: the abyssal zone is characterized by low water temperature (about 2-3 C˚), and is a habitat for:
- Deep sea octopus;
- Known for the animated film "Finding Nemo" terrible (monkfish).
5000 - 11000 meters: despite the complete darkness and high pressure, even at the bottom of the depression, scientists recorded previously unknown, giant amoebas and.

Animal world that inhabits the Mariana Trench is truly unique. For example, some species of fish accumulate a luminous liquid, and in case of danger they “spit” it on a predator, thus blinding their offender for a while.

Mariana lizards: true or fake?

An incident that happened in marian abyss in 2003, introduced the world to a real-life rival to the Loch Ness monster known as "Nessie":

2001 - German expedition, using the deep-sea apparatus "Heyfish", explored the water area of the trench at a depth exceeding 7500 meters. Hearing sharp sounds, the crew turned on the infrared camera and became dumb 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 capture huge monsters with a body length of 14-16 meters. After the bathyscaphe was taken aboard the ship, the researchers noticed an interesting fact - the steel cable on which the apparatus was held was worn or bitten off by more than half.

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

Mariana Trench: 5 interesting facts

Do you know that:

The bottom of the trough 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˚;
Most fish that live at depths of 4000 meters and below are devoid of organs of vision or see very poorly;
Only three people in the world were present at the bottom of the Mariana Trench: the American Don Walsh (1954), the Frenchman Jacques Picard (1960) and the famous Hollywood film director James Cameron (2012);
The bottom of the gutter is covered with thick viscous silt, the layer reaches 1 km, according to scientists;
The hollow is national natural monument, protected by the United States.

Everyone probably heard about the Mother's Hollow, which is also called the "bottom of the Earth", from the school curriculum. deep groove, the depth of which, according to various sources, varies from 10950 to 11037 meters, is nothing more than a tectonic fault formed on the very western point 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 most likely learn in the very near future.

Video: Incredible Mysteries of the Deep Sea Trench

In this video, Fedor Miroshnikov will talk about the mysteries of the Mariana Trench, which is known to science at the moment:

The Mariana Trench (or the Mariana Trench) is the deepest place on the earth's surface. It is located on western outskirts Pacific Ocean, 200 kilometers east of the Mariana Archipelago.

Paradoxically, but about the mysteries of space or mountain peaks mankind knows much more than ocean depths. And one of the most mysterious and unexplored places our planet is just the Mariana Trench. So what do we know about him?

Mariana Trench - the bottom of the world

In 1875, the crew of the British corvette Challenger discovered a place in the Pacific Ocean where there was no bottom. Kilometer after kilometer the rope of the lot went overboard, but there was no bottom! And only at a depth of 8184 meters the descent of the rope stopped. Thus, the deepest underwater crack on Earth was discovered. It was named the Mariana Trench, after the nearby islands. Its shape (in the form of a crescent) and the location of the deepest section, called the "Challenger Abyss", were determined. It is located 340 km. south of the island Guam and has coordinates 11°22′ s. sh., 142°35′ E d.

Since then, this deep sea trench. Oceanographic scientists have long tried to find out its true depth. Research different years gave different values. The fact is that at such a colossal depth, the density of water increases as it approaches the bottom, so the properties of the sound from the echo sounder also change in it. By using barometers and thermometers together with echo sounders on different levels, in 2011 the depth value in the "Challenger Abyss" was set at 10994 ± 40 meters. This is the height of Mount Everest plus another two kilometers from above.

The pressure at the bottom of the underwater crevasse is almost 1100 atmospheres, or 108.6 MPa. Most of the deep-sea vehicles are designed for a maximum depth of 6-7 thousand meters. Since the opening deepest canyon, it was possible to successfully reach its bottom only four times.

In 1960, the Trieste deep-sea bathyscaphe, for the first time in the world, descended to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench in the area of the Challenger Abyss with two passengers on board: US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard.

Their observations led to an important conclusion about the presence of life at the bottom of the canyon. The discovery of the upward flow of water also had an important environmental significance: based on it, the nuclear powers refused to dispose of radioactive waste at the bottom of the Mariana sinkhole.

In the 90s, the gutter was explored by the Japanese unmanned probe Kaiko, which brought samples of silt from the bottom, in which bacteria, worms, shrimp were found, as well as pictures of a hitherto unknown world.

In 2009, the American robot Nereus conquered the abyss, raising samples of silt, minerals, samples of deep-sea fauna and photos of inhabitants of unknown depths from the bottom.

In 2012, James Cameron, the author of Titanic, Terminator and Avatar, dived into the abyss alone. He spent 6 hours at the bottom, collecting samples of soil, minerals, fauna, as well as taking photographs and 3D video. Based on this material, the film "Challenge to the Abyss" was created.

Amazing discoveries

In a trench at a depth of about 4 kilometers is located active volcano Daikoku spewing liquid sulfur that boils at 187°C in a small depression. The only lake of liquid sulfur was discovered only on Jupiter's moon Io.

At 2 kilometers from the surface, "black smokers" swirl - sources of geothermal water with hydrogen sulfide and other substances that, upon contact with cold water are converted to black sulfides. The movement of sulfide water resembles puffs of black smoke. The water temperature at the point of release reaches 450 ° C. The surrounding sea does not boil only because of the density of the water (150 times greater than at the surface).

In the north of the canyon there are "white smokers" - geysers spewing liquid carbon dioxide at a temperature of 70-80 ° C. Scientists suggest that it is in such geothermal "boilers" that one should look for the origins of life on Earth. Hot springs "warm up" the icy waters, supporting life in the abyss - the temperature at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is in the range of 1-3 ° C.

Life beyond life

It would seem that in an atmosphere of complete darkness, silence, icy cold and unbearable pressure, life in the hollow is simply unthinkable. But studies of the depression prove the opposite: there are living creatures almost 11 kilometers under water!

The bottom of the sinkhole is covered with a thick layer of mucus from organic sediments that have been descending from the upper layers of the ocean for hundreds of thousands of years. Mucus is an excellent nutrient medium for barrophilic bacteria, which form the basis of the nutrition of protozoa and multicellular organisms. Bacteria, in turn, become food for more complex organisms.

The ecosystem of the underwater canyon is truly unique. Living beings have managed to adapt to an aggressive, destructive environment under normal conditions, with high pressure, lack of light, a small amount of oxygen and a high concentration of toxic substances. Life in such unbearable conditions gave many inhabitants of the abyss a frightening and unattractive look.

Deep-sea fish have incredible mouths, seated with sharp long teeth. High pressure made their bodies small (from 2 to 30 cm). However, there are also large specimens, such as the xenophyophora amoeba, reaching 10 cm in diameter. The frilled shark and goblin shark, living at a depth of 2000 meters, generally reach 5-6 meters in length.

Representatives live at different depths different types living organisms. The deeper the inhabitants of the abyss, the better their organs of vision are, allowing them to catch the slightest glimmer of light on the body of their prey in complete darkness. Some individuals themselves are able to produce directional light. Other creatures are completely devoid of organs of vision, they are replaced by organs of touch and radar. With increasing depth, underwater inhabitants lose their color more and more, the bodies of many of them are almost transparent.

On the slopes where the “black smokers” live, mollusks live, having learned to neutralize the sulfides and hydrogen sulfide that are fatal to them. And, which remains a mystery to scientists so far, under conditions of enormous pressure at the bottom, they somehow miraculously manage to keep their mineral shell intact. Similar abilities are shown by other inhabitants of the Mariana Trench. The study of fauna samples showed a multiple excess of the level of radiation and toxic substances.

Unfortunately, deep sea creatures die due to the change in pressure with any attempt to bring them to the surface. Only thanks to modern deep-sea vehicles it became possible to study the inhabitants of the depression in their natural environment. Representatives of the fauna unknown to science have already been identified.

Secrets and mysteries of the "womb of Gaia"

The mysterious abyss, like any unknown phenomenon, is shrouded in a mass of secrets and mysteries. What does she hide in her depths? Japanese scientists claimed that while feeding goblin sharks, they saw a shark 25 meters long devouring goblins. A monster of this size could only be a megalodon shark, which became extinct almost 2 million years ago! Confirmation is the findings of megalodon teeth in the vicinity of the Mariana Trench, whose age dates back to only 11 thousand years. It can be assumed that specimens of these monsters are still preserved in the depths of the failure.

There are many stories about the corpses of giant monsters thrown ashore. When descending into the abyss of the German bathyscaphe "Highfish", the dive stopped 7 km from the surface. To understand the reason, the passengers of the capsule turned on the lights and were horrified: their bathyscaphe, like a nut, was trying to crack open some prehistoric lizard! Only a pulse of electric current through the outer skin managed to scare away the monster.

On another occasion, when an American submersible was submerging, a scraping of metal began to be heard from under the water. The descent was stopped. When inspecting the lifted equipment, it turned out that the titanium alloy metal cable was half sawn (or gnawed), and the beams of the underwater vehicle were bent.

In 2012, the video camera of the unmanned vehicle "Titan" from a depth of 10 kilometers transmitted a picture of metal objects, presumably UFOs. Soon the connection with the device was interrupted.

Unfortunately, there is no documentary evidence of these interesting facts; they are all based only on eyewitness accounts. Every story has its fans and skeptics, its pros and cons.

Before a risky dive into the trench, James Cameron said that he wanted to see with his own eyes at least some of those secrets of the Mariana Trench, about which there are so many rumors and legends. But he did not see anything that would go beyond the cognizable.

So what do we know about her?

To understand how the Mariana Underwater Gap was formed, it should be remembered that such gaps (troughs) are usually formed along the edges of the oceans under the action of moving lithospheric plates. The oceanic plates, being older and heavier, "creep" under the continental ones, forming deep dips at the junctions. The deepest is the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates near the Mariana Islands (Marian Trench). The Pacific Plate is moving at a speed of 3-4 centimeters per year, resulting in increased volcanic activity along both of its edges.

Throughout the length of this deepest failure, four so-called bridges were found - transverse mountain ranges. The ridges were presumably formed due to the movement of the lithosphere and volcanic activity.

The gutter is V-shaped in cross-section, strongly widening upwards and narrowing downwards. The average width of the canyon in the upper part is 69 kilometers, in the widest part - up to 80 kilometers. The average width of the bottom between the walls is 5 kilometers. The slope of the walls is almost sheer and is only 7-8°. The depression stretches from north to south for 2500 kilometers. The gutter has average depth about 10,000 meters.

Only three people have been to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench to date. In 2018, another manned dive to the “bottom of the world” is planned at its deepest section. This time the well-known will try to conquer the hollow and find out what it hides in its depths Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov and polar explorer Artur Chilingarov. At present, a deep-sea bathyscaphe is being manufactured and a research program is being drawn up.

Land Unknown: Mariana Trench

Despite the fact that humanity has stepped far ahead, there has appeared a large number of technology that allows us to accomplish the seemingly impossible, there are corners of the Earth where it is almost impossible to reach. Thanks to this, in such corners, pristine nature has been preserved, untouched by man.

Mariana Trench (or Mariana Trench) - oceanic deep sea trench in the western Pacific Ocean, the deepest known on Earth. It is named after the nearby Mariana Islands.

The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is the Challenger Deep. It is located in the southwestern part of the depression, 340 km southwest of the island of Guam (point coordinates: 11°22′ N 142°35′ E (G) (O)). According to measurements in 2011, its depth is 10,994 ± 40 m below sea level.

The Mariana Trench is the deepest place on our planet. I think almost everyone 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

The entire depression stretched 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, just the Mariana Trench is the deepest place of this kind) Its slopes are steep, on average about 7-9 °, and the bottom is flat, with a width of 1 to 5 kilometers , and divided by thresholds into several closed sections. The pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench reaches 108.6 MPa - this is more than 1100 times more than normal atmospheric pressure!

Shot from space

The first who dared to challenge the abyss were the British - the military three-masted corvette "Challenger" with sailing equipment was rebuilt into an oceanographic vessel for hydrological, geological, chemical, biological and meteorological work in 1872. But the first data on the depth of the Mariana Trench were obtained only in 1951 - according to the measurements, the depth of the trench was declared equal to 10,863 m. After that, the deepest point of the Mariana Trench was called the “Challenger Deep”. It is hard to imagine that in the depths of the Mariana Trench the most high mountain our planet - Everest, and above it there will still be more than a kilometer of water to the surface ... Of course, it will fit not in area, but only in height, but the numbers are still amazing ...

The device recording sounds began to transmit noises to the surface, reminiscent of the grinding of saw teeth on metal. At the same time, vague shadows appeared on the TV monitor, similar to giant fairy dragons. These creatures had several heads and tails.

An hour later, scientists on the American research vessel Glomar Challenger became worried that the unique apparatus, made from beams of ultra-strong titanium-cobalt steel in the NASA laboratory, having a spherical structure, the so-called "hedgehog" with a diameter of about 9 m, could remain in the abyss forever.

It was decided to raise it immediately. "Hedgehog" was removed from the depths for more than eight hours. As soon as he appeared on the surface, he was immediately put on a special raft. The TV camera and echo sounder were lifted onto the deck of the Glomar Challenger. It turned out that the strongest steel beams of the structure were deformed, and the 20-centimeter steel cable on which it was lowered turned out to be half sawn. Who tried to leave the “hedgehog” at depth and why is an absolute mystery. The details of this most interesting experiment, conducted by American oceanologists in the Mariana Trench, were published in 1996 by the New York Times (USA)

Research vessel "Vityaz"

Soviet scientists were also researchers of the Mariana Trench - 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 existence of life at depths of more than 7,000 meters, thus refuting the then prevailing idea that life was impossible at depths of more than 6000-7000 meters. In 1992, the Vityaz was handed over to the newly formed Museum of the World Ocean. For two years, the ship was being repaired at the plant, and on July 12, 1994, it was permanently moored at the museum pier in the very center of Kaliningrad

According to the results of measurements carried out in 1957 during the 25th voyage of the Soviet research vessel "Vityaz" (headed by Alexei Dmitrievich Dobrovolsky), the maximum depth of the chute is 11023 m (updated data, the depth of 11034 m was originally reported) in that the speed of sound in water depends on its properties, which are different at different depths, so these properties must also be determined at several horizons with special instruments (such as a bathometer and a thermometer), and a correction has been made to the depth value shown by the echo sounder .Studies in 1995 showed that it is about 10920 m, and studies in 2009 - that 10971 m. The latest research in 2011 gives a value of - 10994 m with an accuracy of ± 40 m

Single-seat Deepsea Challenger

It should be noted that the latest research conducted by the American oceanographic expedition from the University of New Hampshire (USA) discovered real mountains on the surface of the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

The research took place from August to October 2010, when a bottom area of 400,000 square kilometers was studied in detail using a multibeam echo sounder. As a result, at least 4 oceanic mountain ranges 2.5 kilometers high were discovered, crossing the surface of the Mariana Trench at the point of contact of the Pacific and Philippine lithospheric plates.

One of the researchers commented on this: “In this place geological structure the oceanic crust is very complex ... These ridges were formed about 180 million years ago in the process of constant movement of lithospheric plates. Over the course of millions of years, the marginal part of the Pacific plate gradually “creeps” under the Philippine one, as it is older and “heavier” ... During this process, folding is formed ”

diving

So, a person could never resist the desire to explore the unknown, but the rapidly developing world technical progress allows deeper penetration into secret world the most inhospitable and recalcitrant environment in the world - the oceans. There will be enough objects for research in the Mariana Trench for many years to come, given that the most inaccessible and mysterious point of our planet, unlike Everest (altitude 8848 m), was conquered only once.

So, on January 23, 1960, US Navy officer Don Walsh and Swiss explorer Jacques Picard, protected by armored, 12-centimeter-thick walls of a bathyscaphe called Trieste, managed to descend to a depth of 10,915 meters. Despite the fact that scientists have made a huge step in the research of the Mariana Trench, the questions have not decreased, new mysteries have appeared that have yet to be solved. And the ocean abyss knows how to keep its secrets. Will people be able to reveal them in the near future?

The first human dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was made on January 23, 1960 by US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Picard in the Trieste bathyscaphe, designed by Jacques' father Auguste Picard. The instruments recorded a record depth of 11521 meters (corrected value - 10918 m). At the bottom, the researchers unexpectedly met flat fish up to 30 cm in size, similar to flounder. During the dive, they were protected by armored, 127 mm thick walls of a bathyscaphe called “Trieste”

The dive took about five, and the ascent took about three hours, the researchers spent only 12 minutes at the bottom. But even this time was enough for them to make sensational discovery- at the bottom they found flat fish up to 30 cm in size, similar to flounder!

Japanese probe Kaiko, which was lowered into the area maximum depth depressions on March 24, 1995, recorded a depth of 10911.4 meters Living organisms were found in the samples of silt taken by the probe - foraminifera

On May 31, 2009, the Nereus automatic underwater vehicle sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (see Nereus, ancient Greek mythology). The device descended to a depth of 10,902 meters, where it filmed a video, took several photos, and also collected sediment samples at the bottom.

to the Mariana Trench

On March 26, 2012, director James Cameron became the third person in history to reach the deepest point in the world's oceans, and the first to do it alone. Cameron dived on a single Deepsea Challenger, equipped with everything necessary for photo and video shooting. Filming was carried out in 3D, for this the bathyscaphe was equipped with special lighting equipment. Cameron reached the "Challenger Abyss" - a section of the depression at a depth of 10898 meters (accurate calculations show that the bathyscaphe reached a depth of 10908 meters, and not 10898 - the depth recorded by the device during the dive). He took samples of rocks, living organisms and filmed using 3D cameras. The footage shot by the director formed the basis of the eponymous scientific documentary film (2013) on the National Geographic Channel

Another collision with the inexplicable in the depths of the Mariana Trench occurred with the German research apparatus "Highfish" with a crew on board. At a depth of 7 km, the device suddenly stopped moving. To find out the cause of the malfunctions, 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 crack it like a nut. Recovering from the shock, the crew activated a device called an "electric gun", and the monster, struck by a powerful discharge, disappeared into the abyss ...

Can living organisms live at such a great depth, and how should they look, given that they are pressed by huge masses of ocean water, the pressure of which exceeds 1100 atmospheres? The difficulties associated with the study and comprehension of the creatures that live at these unimaginable depths are enough, but human ingenuity knows no bounds. For a long time, oceanologists considered the hypothesis that at depths of more than 6000 m in impenetrable darkness, under monstrous pressure and at temperatures close to zero, life could exist to be insane.

However, the results of research by scientists in the Pacific Ocean have shown that even at these depths, far below the 6000-meter mark, there are huge colonies of living organisms pogonophora ((pogonophora; from the Greek pogon - beard and phoros - bearing), a type of marine invertebrate animals that live in long chitinous tubes open at both ends). IN Lately the veil of secrecy was opened by manned and automatic, made of heavy-duty materials, underwater vehicles equipped with video cameras. As a result, a rich animal community was discovered, consisting of both well-known and less familiar marine groups.

Scheme of the formation of the Mariana Trench.
The trench stretched along the Mariana Islands for 1,500 km. It has a V-shaped profile: steep (7-9°) slopes, a flat bottom 1-5 km wide, which is divided by rapids into several closed depressions. At the bottom, the water pressure reaches 108.6 MPa, which is about 1072 times the normal atmospheric pressure at the level of the World Ocean. The depression is located at the border of the docking of two tectonic plates, in the zone of movement along faults, where the Pacific plate goes under the Philippine plate.

Thus, at depths of 6,000 - 11,000 km, the following were found: - barophilic bacteria (developing only at high pressure); - from multicellular - polychaete worms, isopods, amphipods, holothurians, bivalves and gastropods.

At depths there is no sunlight, no algae, salinity is constant, temperatures are low, an abundance of carbon dioxide, enormous hydrostatic pressure (increases by 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters). What do the inhabitants of the abyss eat? The food sources of deep animals are bacteria, as well as the rain of "corpses" and organic detritus coming from above; deep animals or blind, or with very developed eyes, often telescopic; many fish and cephalopods with photofluores; in other forms, the surface of the body or parts of it glow. Therefore, the appearance of these animals is as terrible and incredible as the conditions in which they live. Among them are terrifying-looking worms 1.5 meters long, without a mouth and anus, mutant octopuses, unusual sea stars and some soft-bodied creatures of two meters in length, which have not yet been identified at all.

Going down to such a depth, we expect that it will be very cold there. The temperature here reaches 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 the incredible pressure, 155 times higher than on the surface.

Giant toxic amoeba

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

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

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

shellfish

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

Pure liquid carbon dioxide

Slime

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

liquid sulfur

Bridges

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

One of the bridges Dutton Ridge, which was discovered back in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. At the highest point the ridge reaches 2.5 km over the Challenger Deep.

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

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 really even begun to study it.

March 26, 2012, 50 years after the first dive, a man again sank to the bottom deepest depression on Earth: Deepsea Challenge submersible with Canadian director James Cameron sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Cameron became the third person to reach the deepest point in the ocean and the first to do it alone.

Mariana Trench- the deepest trench on earth in the western Pacific Ocean. It stretches along the Mariana Islands for 2,500 km. The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is called "Challenger Abyss". According to the latest research in 2011, its depth is 10,994 meters (±40 m) below sea level. By the way, speaking highest peak world - Everest rises to a height of "only" 8,848 meters.

At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the water pressure reaches 1,072 atmospheres, i.e. 1072 times the normal atmospheric pressure. (Infographics ria.ru):

Half a century ago. Bathyscaphe "Trieste", designed by the Swiss scientist Auguste Picard, on which a record dive into the Mariana Trench was made in 1960:

On January 23, 1960, Jacques Picard and US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh made a dive into the Mariana Trench to a depth of 10,920 meters on the Trieste bathyscaphe. The dive took about 5 hours, and the time spent at the bottom was 12 minutes. It was an absolute depth record for manned and unmanned vehicles.

Two researchers then discovered at a terrible depth only 6 species of living creatures, including flat fish up to 30 cm in size:

Let's go back to our days. This is the Deepsea Challenge Deep Sea Bathyscaphe, on which James Cameron sank to the bottom of the ocean. It was developed in an Australian laboratory, weighs 11 tons and has a length of more than 7 meters:

The dive began on March 26 at 05:15 am local time. James Cameron's last words were: "Lower, lower, lower."

When diving to the bottom of the ocean, the bathyscaphe turns over and falls vertically down:

This is a real vertical torpedo that glides through a huge column of water at high speed:

The compartment in which Cameron was during the dive is a metal sphere with a diameter of 109 cm with thick walls that can withstand pressures of more than 1,000 atmospheres:

In the photo, to the left of the director, you can see a hatch covering the sphere:

HD video. Dive:

James Cameron spent more than 3 hours at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, during which he took photos and videos underwater world. The result of this underwater journey will be a joint film with National Geographic. The photo shows manipulators with cameras:

At a depth of 11 kilometers:

3D camera:

However, the underwater expedition was not entirely successful. Due to malfunction metal "hands", controlled by hydraulics, James Cameron was unable to take samples from the ocean floor that scientists need to study geology:

Many were tormented by the question of animals that live at such a monstrous depth. “Probably everyone would like to hear that I saw some kind of sea monster, but it was not there ... There was nothing alive, more than 2-2.5 cm.”

A few hours after the dive, the Deepsea Challenge bathyscaphe with the 57-year-old director successfully returned from the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

The rise of the bathyscaphe:

James Cameron - the first person in the world to make a solo dive into the abyss- to the bottom of Mariana. In the coming weeks, it will sink to a depth of 4 more times.