The Mariana Trench, or as it is also called, the Mariana Trench, is the deepest place on Earth. For many years, it has sparked great interest among researchers and those who dream of unraveling its mysteries. The trench takes its famous name from the Mariana Islands, which are located just 200 km away in the western Pacific Ocean.
The deepest point of the trench is the “Challenger Deep,” located 340 km from Guam. According to official data from 2011, it has a depth of approximately 10,994 meters. However, this figure is still considered relative, as precise measurement is complicated by the high pressure at such depths and other factors. The Mariana Trench has a crescent shape, with a width of 69 km and a length of 2,550 km.
The trench is located at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates. It is designated as a U.S. national monument and is protected by law. Fishing and mining are prohibited here, though swimming is allowed. Despite the extreme pressure and almost complete absence of light, fish and other creatures accustomed to such an environment inhabit the trench, many of which are unusual and even frightening in appearance.
Research of the Mariana Trench
The trench was first discovered and measured by the British in 1875. The research was conducted from the British warship HMS Challenger, which had been converted for oceanographic studies in 1872.
The next measurements were taken in 1951 by a research vessel bearing the same name. Using sonar, the crew was able to measure the maximum depth at 10,863 meters.
In 1957, the Soviet ship Vityaz under the leadership of Alexei Dobrovolsky, during its 25th voyage, made new measurements, establishing a maximum depth of 11,022 meters. These figures were later included in Soviet encyclopedias and scientific literature.
During these studies, researchers encountered several challenges, the main one being that the speed of sound underwater varies with depth due to changes in water properties. To take measurements, special instruments such as bathometers had to be used.
The most recent research was conducted by a U.S. oceanographic expedition in 2011, which recorded a depth of 10,994 meters, a value that is still used today. During the expedition, mountain ridges were also discovered on the trench floor.
Dives into the Trench
The first person to risk descending to the deepest place on Earth was U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, who, along with Jacques Piccard, made the dive to the bottom in January 1960. They used the deep-sea vessel Trieste, designed by Piccard’s father. During their dive, they observed large flatfish resembling flounder.
Later, in 1995, the Japanese probe Kaiko visited the trench, taking measurements and samples of silt, which revealed the presence of small deep-sea shrimp. In 2009, the submersible Nereus captured photos and video at the trench’s depths.
The most famous person to dive into the Mariana Trench was director James Cameron. He became the third person to reach the trench’s deepest point and the first to do so solo, using the Deepsea Challenger submersible, which was equipped for underwater filming. The one-person bathyscaphe had special lighting devices that allowed Cameron to shoot in 3D.
Cameron successfully reached the Challenger Deep, the trench’s deepest section. The footage he captured became the basis for a 2012 National Geographic documentary titled James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge.
Interesting Facts
- It’s hard to imagine, but the deepest point of the trench could easily accommodate the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest, with about a kilometer of depth remaining above it.
- The Soviet ship Vityaz, after its service, was handed over to the newly established Museum of the World Ocean in 1992, and after two years of restoration, it took its place near the museum’s dock in Kaliningrad.
- Walsh and Piccard’s descent took around five hours, while the ascent to the surface took about three. Interestingly, they spent only 12 minutes at the bottom, which was enough for them to make lifelong memories and observe rare fish.
- In 2017, explorer Fyodor Konyukhov expressed his desire to reach the Challenger Deep.
- The pressure at the bottom of the trench is 1,077 times greater than at the surface, which would be fatal for a human without special suits and diving equipment. Such extreme pressure prevents the water heated by thermal vents from boiling.
- The fish inhabiting the trench are mostly blind, and ancient species of organisms live there, more primitive than those in other oceans.
- The trench’s floor is relatively smooth, with four transverse ridges about 2.5 km high.
- The seabed is covered with a layer formed from plankton remains and other organic matter, giving it a grayish-yellow tint. There is no sand.
- At depths greater than 200 meters, there is no light, meaning no plants or phytoplankton can grow, which are necessary for natural food chains.
- The frilled shark, listed in the Red Book, and several other fish species found nowhere else have been discovered in the trench.
- Near the bottom, at a depth of 410 meters, is the Daikoku Volcano. It features a unique phenomenon—an underwater lake of molten sulfur. Before this discovery, liquid sulfur had only been found on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons.
Rumors and Stories of Unusual Phenomena
There have long been various rumors about the trench, involving mysterious and eerie events or terrifying creatures allegedly found at its depths. In 1996, The New York Times published a story about the American research ship Glomar Challenger. During one of its dives, strange sounds resembling scraping metal were recorded, and shadows of unknown large creatures appeared on the monitor. When the equipment was retrieved, the steel casing was found to be severely dented, and the cable was frayed. The cause of this remains unknown.
Another story tells of a German research submersible Haifisch, which, at a depth of 7 km, suddenly stopped moving. After turning on the infrared camera, the crew noticed a strange creature with a huge eye that had caused their halt. They managed to scare it away with an electric shock.
Some residents of islands near the trench have claimed to have found remains of creatures resembling ancient reptiles or extraterrestrial beings washed ashore. Of course, these stories lack evidence and are most likely fabricated. However, scientists have confirmed that certain species of octopus, fish, and small deep-sea shrimp live in the Mariana Trench. The shrimp were discovered in silt samples. A study published in June 2016 revealed that these shrimp contain significantly more toxic substances than those found in coastal waters polluted by industrial waste.
Only 5% of the ocean’s most inaccessible places have been explored. As for the Mariana Trench, despite all the dives and depth measurements, humanity still knows very little about it. Many species of creatures living there remain unstudied, and large portions of its floor remain unexplored. Darkness, cold, high pressure, and fear of the unknown continue to be the main obstacles to studying the deepest crevice on Earth.
The Mariana Trench will remain a mysterious place for a long time, sparking debates, speculations, and theories. It will continue to attract adventurers willing to descend into its depths in search of the unknown.