There are 5 oceans on Earth, which occupy a significant part of the land. Having conquered space and made a landing of a man on the Moon, having sent autonomous spacecraft to the most distant planets of the solar system, people know negligibly little about what is hidden in the depths of the sea on their native planet.

What is the Mariana Trench?

This is the name of the deepest known place in the Pacific Ocean today. It is a trough formed by the convergence of tectonic plates. The maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is approximately 10,994 meters (2011 data). There are other trenches in all the other oceans, but not as deep. Only the Java Trench (7729 meters) can be compared with the Mariana Trench.

Location

The deepest place on Earth is in the western Pacific Ocean Mariana Islands. The gutter stretches along them for one and a half thousand kilometers. The bottom of the depression is flat, its width is from 1 to 5 kilometers. The gutter got its name in honor of the islands next to which it is located.

"Challenger Abyss"

This name has the deepest place (10,994 meters) of the Mariana Trench. Here it must be clarified that it is not yet possible to obtain the exact dimensions of this gigantic trough of the ocean floor. The speed of sound at different depths is very different, and the Mariana Trench has a very complex structure, so the data obtained using the echo sounder is always slightly different.

Discovery history

People have long known that deep seas exist in the seas and oceans. In 1875, the English corvette Challenger opened one of these points. What depth of the Mariana Trench was recorded then? It was 8367 meters. The measurement instruments at that time were far from ideal, but even this result made a stunning impression - it became clear that the deepest point of the ocean floor on the planet had been found.

Gutter studies

In the 19th century, it was simply impossible to explore the bottom of the Mariana Trench. At that time, there was no technology to descend to such a depth. Without modern means of immersion, this was tantamount to suicide.

A re-examination of the trench took place many years later, in the next century. Measurements made in 1951 showed a depth of 10,863 meters. Then, in 1957, members of the Soviet scientific vessel "Vityaz" were engaged in the study of the depression. According to their measurements, the depth of the Mariana Trench was 11,023 meters.

The last study of the gutter was carried out in 2011.

Cameron's Great Journey

The Canadian director became the third person in the history of research into the Mariana Trench to descend to its bottom. He was the first in the world to do it alone. Prior to its sinking, the trough was explored by Don Walsh and Jacques Picard in 1960 using the Trieste submersible. In addition, Japanese scientists tried to find out what the depth of the Mariana Trench is using the Kaiko probe for this. And in 2009, the Nereus apparatus descended to the bottom of the gutter.

Descent to such an incredible depth is associated with a huge number of risks. First of all, a man is threatened by a monstrous pressure of 1100 atmospheres. It can damage the body of the device, which will lead to the death of the pilot. Another serious danger that awaits when descending to a depth is the cold that reigns there. It can not only lead to equipment failure, but also kill a person. The bathyscaphe can collide with rocks and get damaged.

For many years, James Cameron dreamed of visiting the deepest point of the Mariana Trench - the "Challenger Abyss". In order to carry out his plan, he equipped his own expedition. Especially for this, an underwater vehicle was designed and built in Sydney - a single-seat bathyscaphe Deepsea Challenger equipped with scientific equipment, as well as photo and video cameras. In it, Cameron sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This event took place on March 26, 2012.

In addition to photographs and video filming, the Deepsea Challenger bathyscaphe had to take new measurements of the chute and try to give accurate data on its dimensions. Everyone was worried about one question: "How much?" The depth of the Mariana Trench, according to the readings of the apparatus, was 10,908 meters.

The director was impressed by what he saw below. Most of all, the bottom of the depression reminded him of a lifeless lunar landscape. He did not meet the terrible inhabitants of the abyss. The only creature he saw through the porthole of the bathyscaphe was a small shrimp.

After a successful voyage, James Cameron decided to donate his bathyscaphe to the Oceanographic Institute so that it could continue to be used to explore the depths of the sea.

Creepy Dwellers of the Deep

The lower the bottom of the ocean, the less sunlight penetrates through the water column. The depth of the Mariana Trench is the reason that impenetrable darkness always reigns in it. But even the absence of light cannot become an obstacle to the origin of life. Darkness gives birth to beings who have never seen the sun. And they, in turn, have only recently been able to see marine biologists.

The sight is not for the faint of heart. Almost all the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench seem to be born from the imagination of an artist who creates monsters for horror films. Seeing them for the first time, you might think that they do not live next to a person on the same planet, but are alien creatures, they look so alien.

To some extent, this is true - very little is known about the oceans and their inhabitants. The bottom of the Mariana Trench has been explored to date less than the surface of Mars. Therefore, for a long time it was believed that at such a depth, without sunlight, life is impossible. It turned out that this was not the case. The depth of the Mariana Trench, gigantic pressure and cold are not an obstacle to the birth of amazing creatures living in complete darkness.

Most of them have an ugly appearance due to terrible living conditions. The pitch darkness reigning in the depths made the marine inhabitants of these places completely blind. Many fish have huge teeth, such as howliods, which swallow their prey whole.

What can living beings eat so far from the surface of the ocean? At the bottom of the depression, the remains of living organisms accumulate, forming a multi-meter layer of bottom silt. The inhabitants of the depths feed on these deposits. Predatory fish have luminous parts of the body with which they attract small fish.

The gutter is inhabited by bacteria that can develop only at high pressure, unicellular organisms, jellyfish, worms, molluscs, sea cucumbers. The depth of the Mariana Trench gives them the opportunity to reach very large sizes. For example, the amphipods found at the bottom of the gutter are 17 centimeters long.

Amoeba

Xenophyophores (amoebae) are single-celled organisms that can only be seen with a microscope. But at a depth, these inhabitants of the Mariana Trench reach gigantic sizes - up to 10 centimeters. Previously, they were found at a depth of 7500 meters. An interesting feature of these organisms, in addition to their size, is the ability to accumulate uranium, lead and mercury. Outwardly, deep-sea amoebas look different. Some are disk or tetrahedral shaped. Xenophyophores feed on bottom sediments.

Hirondellea gigas

Large amphipods (amphipods) have been found in the Mariana Trench. These deep-sea crayfish feed on dead organic matter that accumulates at the bottom of the depression and have a keen sense of smell. The largest specimen found was 17 centimeters long.

Holothurians

Sea cucumbers are another representatives of organisms that live at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This class of invertebrates feeds on plankton and bottom sediments.

Conclusion

The Mariana Trench has not yet been properly explored. No one knows what creatures inhabit it and how many secrets it keeps.

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

The unique depth of the planet

The bottom of the Earth, the abyss of the Challenger, the deepest place on the planet ... What titles were given to the little-studied Mariana Trench. It is a V-shaped bowl with a diameter of about 5 km with steep slopes located at an angle of only 7-9 ° and a flat bottom. According to measurements in 2011, the depth of the trench is 10,994 km below sea level. It is hard to imagine, but Everest can easily fit in its depths - the most high mountain planets.

The deep sea trench is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Its name is unique geographic point received in honor of the Mariana Islands located in the immediate vicinity. Along them, it stretched for 1.5 km.

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

Secrets and mysteries of the "Womb of Gaia"

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

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

The world knows many stories about how, on the shores of nearby islands, corpses of unknown people were found thrown out by the waters. giant monsters.

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

Another inexplicable incident occurred during the sinking of an American deep-sea vessel. At the moment of lowering the apparatus on titanium cables, the researchers heard the rattle of metal. To find out the reason, they removed the apparatus back to the surface. As it turned out, the ship's beams were bent, and the titanium cables were practically sawn through. Which of the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench tried their teeth remained a mystery.

Amazing Gutter Dwellers

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

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

sea ​​slug

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

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

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

The size of an adult sea slug is only 25-30 cm. The head is pronounced and strongly flattened. A well-developed tail is more than half the length of the body. A powerful tail and well-developed fins are used by the fish for locomotion.

Jellyfish traditionally live in the upper water layers. But bentocodon feels comfortable at a depth of about 750 meters. Outwardly, the amazing inhabitant of the Mariana Trench resembles a red flying saucer D 2-3 cm.

Bentocodon feeds on unicellular and crustaceans, which exhibit bioluminescent properties in the depths of the sea. According to marine biologists, the red coloring was donated by nature to these jellyfish for the purpose of camouflage. If they had a transparent color, as their high waters gather, then when swallowing the crustaceans glowing in the dark, they would immediately become noticeable to larger predators.

macropina barrel-eye

Among the amazing inhabitants of the Mariana Trench, an unusual fish called the small-mouthed macropina arouses genuine interest in itself. She is awarded by nature with a transparent head. The eyes of the fish, located deep inside the transparent dome, can rotate in different directions. This allows the side eye to search in all directions without moving, even in dim and diffused light conditions. False eyes located at the front of the head are actually organs of smell.

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

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

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

Soaring along seabed, he looks out for prey - bivalve mollusks, worm-like animals and crustaceans. Unlike most cephalopods, Dumbo does not peck at its prey with its beak-like jaws, but swallows it whole.

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

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

Osedax Bone Eaters

Among those who live at the bottom of the Mariana Trench are polychaete worms. They reach a length of only 5-7 cm. As food, osedax use substances contained in the bones of dead marine life.

By secreting an acidic substance, they penetrate the skeleton, extracting from it all the microelements necessary for life. Tiny bone eaters breathe through fluffy processes on the body that can extract oxygen from the water.

Of no less interest is the way these creatures adapt. Males, whose size is ten times smaller than females, live on the body of their ladies. Inside the dense gelatinous cone framing the body, up to a hundred males can simultaneously coexist. They leave their shelter only at the moments when the female prey finds a new source of food.

active bacteria

During the last expedition, Danish scientists found colonies of active bacteria at the bottom of the trench, which are of great importance in maintaining the carbon cycle of the ocean.

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

underwater monsters

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

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

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

On the body of the fish there are photophores - glow glands. Their deep-sea dweller uses them for three purposes at once: to protect against large predators, communicate with their own kind, and bait small fish. During hunting, the needleworm also uses a special mustache - a luminous thickening. A potential victim takes a luminous strip for a small fish and, as a result, she falls for the bait herself.

Fish are amazing not only in appearance, but also in their way of life. She got the nickname "angler" for a remarkable process on her head filled with bioluminescent bacteria. Attracted by the glow of the "fishing rod", a potential victim swims up to close quarters. The angler can only open his mouth to meet her.

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

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

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

It is noteworthy that goblin sharks do not have a swim bladder. This is partially offset by an enlarged liver, which can weigh up to 25% relative to the body.

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

frilled shark

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

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

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

In the field of view of people, frilled ones come across extremely rarely, when, with a lack of food or changes in temperature, they rise closer to the surface.

Mariana Trench is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, not far from the Mariana Islands, only two hundred kilometers, thanks to the neighborhood with which it received its name. It is a huge marine reserve in the status national monument The United States, therefore, is under state protection. Fishing and mining are strictly prohibited here, but you can swim and enjoy the beauty.

In shape, the Mariana Trench resembles a grandiose crescent - 2550 km long and 69 km wide. The deepest point - 10994 m below sea level - is called the "Challenger Abyss".

Discovery and first observations

The Mariana Trench began to explore the British. In 1872, he entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean sailing corvette"Challenger" with scientists and the most advanced equipment of those times. After taking measurements, we set the maximum depth - 8367 m. The value, of course, differs markedly from the correct result. But even this was enough to understand: the deepest point of the globe was discovered. So the next riddle of nature was “challenged” (translated from English “Challenger” - “challenging”). Years passed, and in 1951 the British carried out "work on the mistakes." Namely: a deep-sea echo sounder recorded a maximum depth of 10863 meters.

Then the baton was intercepted by Russian researchers who sent the Vityaz research vessel to the area of ​​the Mariana Trench. In 1957, with the help of special equipment, they were not only able to fix the depth of the depression, equal to 11022 m, but also established the presence of life at a depth of more than seven kilometers. Thus, making a small revolution in scientific world the middle of the 20th century, where there was a strong opinion that there are no such deeply living beings and cannot be. This is where the most interesting begins ... Many stories about underwater monsters, huge octopuses, unseen bathyscaphees crushed into a cake by huge paws of animals ... Where is the truth and where is the lie - let's try to figure it out.

Secrets, riddles and legends

The first daredevils who dared to dive to the "bottom of the Earth" were US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Picard. They dived on the bathyscaphe "Trieste", which was built in the same name. Italian city. A very heavy structure with thick 13-centimeter walls was immersed to the bottom for five whole hours. Having reached the lowest point, the researchers stayed there for 12 minutes, after which the ascent was immediately begun, which took approximately 3 hours. At the bottom, fish were found - flat, similar to flounder, about 30 centimeters long.

Research continued, and in 1995 the Japanese descended into the "abyss". Another “breakthrough” was made in 2009 with the help of the Nereus automatic underwater vehicle: this miracle of technology not only took several photos at the deepest point of the Earth, but also took soil samples.

In 1996, the New York Times published a shocking story about equipment from the American scientific vessel Glomar Challenger diving into the Mariana Trench. The spherical apparatus for deep-sea travel was affectionately nicknamed the “hedgehog” by the team. Some time after the start of the dive, the instruments recorded terrifying sounds, reminiscent of the grinding of metal on metal. The “Hedgehog” was immediately raised to the surface, and they were horrified: the huge steel structure was crushed, and the strongest and thickest (20 cm in diameter!) Cable seemed to be sawn. There were many explanations immediately. Some said that these were the "tricks" of the inhabitants natural object monsters, others leaned towards the version of the presence of an alien mind, and still others believed that there were mutated octopuses! True, there was no evidence, and all assumptions remained at the level of conjecture and speculation ...

The same mysterious case happened to the German research team, which decided to lower the Highfish apparatus into the waters of the abyss. But for some reason he stopped moving, and the cameras impartially showed on the monitor screens an image of the shocking size of the lizard, which was trying to gnaw through the steel "thing". The team was not taken aback and by an electric discharge from the device “scared away” an unknown beast. He sailed away, and did not appear again ... It remains only to regret that for some reason those who came across such unique inhabitants of the Mariana Trench did not have the equipment that would allow them to be photographed.

In the late 90s of the last century, at the time of the "discovery" by the Americans of the monsters of the Mariana Trench, the "fouling" of this geographical feature legends. Fishermen (poachers) talked about glows from its depths, lights running back and forth, various unidentified flying objects emerging from there. Crews of small ships reported that ships in the area were "towing at great speed" by a monster with incredible strength.

Confirmed testimonies

Depth of the Mariana Trench

Along with many legends associated with the Mariana Trench, there are also incredible facts supported by irrefutable evidence.

Found giant shark tooth

In 1918, Australian lobster fishermen told of a translucent white fish about 30 meters long that they saw in the sea. According to the description, it looks like an ancient shark of the species Carcharodon megalodon, which lived in the seas 2 million years ago. Scientists from the surviving remains were able to recreate the appearance of a shark - a monstrous creature 25 meters long, weighing 100 tons and an impressive two-meter mouth with teeth 10 cm each. Can you imagine such "teeth"! And it was they who were recently found by oceanologists at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean! The "youngest" of the discovered artifacts ... "only" 11 thousand years old!

This find allows us to be sure that not all megalodons died out two million years ago. Perhaps the waters of the Mariana Trench hide these incredible predators from human eyes? Research continues, the depths are still fraught with many unsolved mysteries.

Features of the deep sea world

The water pressure at the lowest point of the Mariana Trench is 108.6 MPa, that is, it exceeds the normal atmospheric pressure by 1072 times. A vertebrate animal simply cannot survive in such monstrous conditions. But, oddly enough, shellfish have taken root here. How their shells withstand such colossal water pressure is not clear. The discovered mollusks are an incredible example of "survival". They exist near serpentine hydrothermal springs. Serpentine contains hydrogen and methane, which not only do not pose a threat to the “population” found here, but also contribute to the formation of living organisms in such a seemingly aggressive environment. But hydrothermal springs also emit a gas that is deadly for molluscs - hydrogen sulfide. But the "cunning" and life-hungry mollusks have learned to process hydrogen sulfide into protein, and continue, as they say, clover to live in the Mariana Trench.

Another incredible mystery of the deep-sea object is the Champagne hydrothermal spring, named after the famous French (and not only) alcoholic drink. It's all about the bubbles that "boil" in the waters of the source. Of course, these are by no means the bubbles of your favorite champagne - this is liquid carbon dioxide. Thus, the world's only underwater source of liquid carbon dioxide is located in the Mariana Trench. Such sources are called "white smokers", their temperature is below ambient temperature, and there are always vapors around them that look like white smoke. Thanks to these sources, hypotheses were born about the origin of all life on earth in water. Low temperature, an abundance of chemicals, colossal energy - all this created excellent conditions for the ancient representatives of flora and fauna.

The temperature in the Mariana Trench is also very favorable - from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. The "black smokers" took care of that. The antipode of "white smokers" hydrothermal vents contain a large number of ore substances, and therefore they are dark in color. These springs are located here at a depth of about 2 kilometers and spew water, the temperature of which is about 450 degrees Celsius. I immediately recall the school physics course, from which we know that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. So what's going on? Does the spring spew boiling water? Fortunately, no. It's all about the colossal pressure of water - it is 155 times higher than on the surface of the Earth, so H 2 O does not boil, but pretty much "warms up" the waters of the Mariana Trench. The water of these hydrothermal springs is incredibly saturated with various minerals, which also contributes to the comfortable habitation of living beings.

Incredible Facts

How many more mysteries and incredible wonders is fraught with this incredible place? A bunch of. At a depth of 414 meters, the Daikoku volcano is located here, which served as another proof that life originated here, at the deepest point on the globe. In the crater of the volcano, under water, there is a lake of the purest molten sulfur. In this "cauldron" sulfur seethes at a temperature of 187 degrees Celsius. The only known analogue of such a lake is located on Jupiter's moon Io. There is nothing else like it on Earth. Only in space. It is no wonder that most of the hypotheses about the origin of life from water are associated with this mysterious deep-sea object in the Pacific Ocean.

Let's remember a little school biology course. The simplest living creatures are amoeba. Tiny, single-celled, they can only be seen through a microscope. They reach, as it is written in textbooks, a length of half a millimeter. Giant toxic amoebas 10 centimeters long have been found in the Mariana Trench. Can you imagine this? Ten centimeters! That is, this single-celled living being can be perfectly examined with the naked eye. Isn't this a miracle? As a result of scientific research, it has been established that amoebas acquired such gigantic sizes for their class of unicellular organisms, adapting to the “savory” life on the seabed. Cold water, coupled with its colossal pressure and lack of sunlight, contributed to the "growth" of amoebas, which are called xenophyophores. The incredible abilities of xenophyophores are quite surprising: they have adapted to the effects of most harmful substances - uranium, mercury, lead. And they live in this environment, like mollusks. In general, the Mariana Trench is a miracle of miracles, where everything living and non-living is perfectly combined, and the most harmful chemical elements that can kill any organism not only do not harm the living, but, on the contrary, contribute to survival.

The local bottom has been studied in some detail and is not of particular interest - it is covered with a layer of viscous mucus. There is no sand there, only the remains of crushed shells and plankton, which have been lying there for thousands of years, and due to the pressure of the water, they have long turned into a thick greyish-yellow mud. And the tranquility and measured life of the seabed are disturbed only by the bathyscaphes of researchers descending here from time to time.

Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench

Research continues

Everything secret and unknown has always attracted a person. And with each secret revealed, there were no fewer new mysteries on our planet. All this fully applies to the Mariana Trench.

At the end of 2011, researchers discovered unique natural stone formations in it, shaped like bridges. Each of them stretched from one end to the other for as much as 69 km. Scientists had no doubt: it is here that the tectonic plates, the Pacific and the Philippine, come into contact, and stone bridges(there are four in total) formed at their junction. True, the very first of the bridges - Dutton Ridge - was opened in the late 80s of the last century. He impressed then with his size and height, which were the size of a small mountain. In her own high point, located just above the "Challenger Abyss", this deep-sea "ridge" reaches two and a half kilometers.

Why did nature need to build such bridges, and even in such a mysterious and inaccessible place for people? The purpose of these objects is still unclear. In 2012, James Cameron, the creator of the legendary film Titanic, dived into the Mariana Trench. The unique equipment and powerful cameras installed on his DeepSea Challenge bathyscaphe made it possible to film the majestic and deserted “bottom of the Earth”. It is not known how long he would have been observing local landscapes if some malfunctions had not occurred on the apparatus. In order not to risk his life, the researcher was forced to rise to the surface.

Together with The National Geographic, the talented director created the documentary "Challenge to the Abyss". In his account of the dive, he called the bottom of the trough "the boundary of life." Emptiness, silence, and - nothing, not the slightest movement or disturbance of water. No sunlight, no shellfish, no algae, much less sea monsters. But this is only at first glance. In the bottom soil samples taken by Cameron, more than twenty thousand different microorganisms were found. Great amount. How do they survive under such incredible water pressure? Still a mystery. Among the inhabitants of the depression, a shrimp-like amphipod has also been found that produces a unique chemical that scientists are testing as a vaccine against Alzheimer's disease.

During his stay at the deepest point not only of the oceans, but of the entire Earth, James Cameron did not meet any scary monsters, or representatives of extinct animal species, or alien bases, not to mention some incredible miracles. The feeling that he was completely alone here was a real shock. The ocean floor seemed deserted and, as the director himself said, "lunar ... lonely." The feeling of complete isolation from all mankind was such that it was beyond words. However, he still tried to do it in his documentary. Well, the fact that the Mariana Trench is silent and shocking with its emptiness should probably not be surprising. After all, she simply sacredly keeps the secret of the origin of all life on Earth ...

There are deepest faults in the earth's crust - sea depressions at the bottom of the oceans, where impenetrable darkness and the highest pressure reign. We offer a selection of the deepest sea trenches, which the lack of technology does not yet allow to study well.

1. Mariana Trench

The Mariana Trench is the deepest oceanic trench on our planet, which is located in pacific ocean not far from the Mariana Islands that gave it its name. The depth of the trench is 10994 ± 40 m below sea level.

Paradoxically, the Mariana Trench is more or less explored - three people have already managed to descend here.

Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard

The first time this happened on January 23, 1960, when the bathyscaphe, on board of which were US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and researcher Jacques Picard, managed to sink to a depth of 10,918 m. Then there was no such technology as now, and two people were connected with the world only by a strong cable. After a successful return, the researchers said that they saw flat, flounder-like fish at the very bottom, but, unfortunately, there are no photographs.

Just a year ago, director James Cameron descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. It was easier for him, even though he was alone: ​​in 50 years, technology had gone far ahead. Moreover, his bathyscaphe "Deepsea Challenger" was equipped with everything necessary for photo and video shooting, and there were also 3D cameras on board. Based on the material received, the National Geographic channel is preparing a film.

And recently, information was received that there are real mountains at the bottom of the Mariana Trench: with the help of echolocation, it was possible to “see” four ridges 2.5 km high.

2. Tonga Trench

The Tonga Trench is the deepest trench in the Southern Hemisphere and the second deepest on Earth. Maximum known depth- 10,882 m. It is unusual primarily in that the speed of movement of lithospheric plates in the Tonga region is much greater than in all other parts of the planet where there are gaps in the earth's crust. Here, the plates move at a speed of 25.4 cm per year against the usual 2 cm. This was established by observing the tiny island of Nyautoputana, which annually shifts by an average of just 25 cm.

Somewhere in the middle of Tonga, the Apollo 13 lunar landing stage was stuck, falling there during the return of the lunar module to Earth. It is located approximately at a depth of 6,000 m, and no attempts have been made to extract it from there. Together with it, a plutonium energy source containing plutonium-238 fell into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It seems that this did not cause much harm to the environment, although given that the half-life of plutonium-238 is slightly less than 88 years, and the module fell there in 1970, very interesting discoveries can await the pioneers who decided to go down to the bottom of Tonga.

3 Philippine Trench

The Philippine Trench is also located in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippine Islands. The maximum depth is 10,540 m. Little is known about the trench - only that it was formed as a result of subduction. No one tried to go down to its bottom, since the Mariana Trench, of course, is more interesting.

4. Kermadec chute

Kermadec connects to the north with the Tonga Trench. The maximum depth is 10,047 m. During an expedition in 2008, a strange pink creature of the species Notoliparis kermadecensis was photographed here at a depth of 7,560 m. Other inhabitants were also found there - huge crustaceans 34 cm in length.

5. Izu-Bonin Trench

The maximum depth of the Izu-Bonin Trench, also known as Izu-Ogasawara, is 9,810 m. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century during an expedition when it was decided to lay a telephone cable on the ocean floor. Of course, first it was necessary to make measurements, and in one place, not far from the Izu Islands, the lot of the Tuscarora did not reach the bottom, recording a depth of more than 8500 m.

In the north, Izu-Ogasawara connects with the Japan Trench, and in the south with the Volkano Trench. In this region of the ocean there is a whole chain of deep-sea depressions, and Izu-Bonin is just a part of it.

6. Kuril-Kamchatsky Trench

This depression was discovered shortly after Izu-Bonin during the same expedition. The maximum depth is 9,783 m. This trough is quite narrow compared to all the others, its width is only 59 m. The slopes of this trough are known to contain ledges, terraces, canyons and valleys that appear up to the maximum depth. The bottom of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench is uneven, divided by rapids into separate depressions. To the best of our knowledge, detailed studies have not been carried out.

7 Puerto Rico Trench

The Puerto Rico Trench is located on the border of the Atlantic Ocean and caribbean. The maximum depth is 8385 m and it is the deepest place in Atlantic Ocean. The area where the trench is located is a zone of high seismic activity. The last disaster occurred here in 2004, when the eruptions of underwater volcanoes caused a tsunami that hit the countries indian ocean. Recent studies have shown that it is possible that the depth of the trough is gradually increasing due to the fact that the North American tectonic plate - the southern "wall" of the trough - is gradually lowering.

An active mud volcano was discovered at a depth of 7,900 m in the Puerto Rican Trench, which erupted rock 10 km high in 2004. A column of hot mud and water was clearly visible above the surface of the ocean.

8. Japanese chute

The Japanese Trench is also located in the Pacific Ocean, as the name suggests, is located near Japanese islands. The depth of the Japan Trench, according to the latest data, is about 8,400 m, and the length is more than 1,000 km.

So far, no one has yet reached its bottom, but in 1989, the Shinkai 6500 bathyscaphe with three researchers on board sank to a mark of 6,526 m. Later, in 2008, a group of Japanese and British researchers managed to photograph large groups of fish 30 cm long at a depth of 7,700 m.

The deepest place on Earth is an oceanic trench, which is located near the Mariana Islands.

The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, east of the 14 Mariana Islands near Japan. As you probably already know, this is the deepest ocean trench and also the deepest place on Earth. It was created as a result of the opposition of two tectonic plates.

The deepest place in the Mariana Trench is the Challenger Deep point (which means Challenging), it is also the deepest point in the oceans. According to various research deep-sea vehicles, the maximum recorded depth is 11,521 m.

The Mariana Trench was first explored in 1951 by the British navy vessel Challenger II, hence the name of the deepest point on Earth.

The first people to personally dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench were Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard and US soldier Don Walsh. This happened in January 1960 on a special round bathyscaphe called Trieste. Great was the surprise of scientists when at such a great depth they met flat fish and other living organisms. Later in 1995, a Japanese deep-sea submersible dived at the point of maximum depth and recorded a bottom-to-surface distance of 10,911.4 meters. According to the most recent research in 2011, with the participation of the newest locators, a depth of 10,994 meters was named. website - Interesting Facts about everything, read on and learn something new.

The dimensions of the Mariana Trench are huge, along it stretches for 1500 km. The width at the very bottom is only 1-5 km, the bottom is flat and surrounded sheer cliffs. The water pressure at the very bottom of the depression is 108.6 MPa, which in turn is 11,074 tons/m2, or 1,107 kg/cm2.
For comparison, here are some facts.

123 meters. The record maximum human diving depth without scuba gear and breathing apparatus is 123 m. This record was achieved by a diver from Monaco and officially registered.

100 m. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth, has a diving depth of no more than 100 meters.

1000 m. Below this mark, sunlight does not penetrate.

2000 m. The sperm whale is the only mammal that can dive to a depth of two kilometers.

4000 m. Water pressure reaches 402 kg per cm2. The ambient temperature is not higher than +2 degrees. Fish are blind or with underdeveloped eyes.

6000 m. The pressure is 584 times greater than the pressure on the Earth's surface. Despite this, life exists here.

10994 m. The bottom of the Mariana Trench. The complete absence of light, the water pressure is 1072 times higher than the surface pressure, 1 ton 74 kilograms presses on 1 square centimeter. Hellish conditions. But there is life here. Small fish similar to flounder up to 30 centimeters long.

Below we give photographs of deep-sea fish. Most of these creatures live at a depth of 500 to 6500 meters.

Do you think this monkfish has legs? I hasten to disappoint you. These are not legs at all, but two males that have stuck to a female. The fact is that at great depths and in the complete absence of light it is very difficult to find a partner. Therefore, the male monkfish, as soon as he finds a female, immediately bites into her side. These embraces will never be broken. Later, it grows together with the body of the female, loses all unnecessary organs, merges with her circulatory system and becomes only a source of sperm. Below is another photo of this fish.

This is a deep-sea octopus with a size of only 20 cm. The depth of habitat is from 500 to 5000 meters.

It is a fish with a transparent head. For what? At depth, as you know, there is very little light. The fish has developed a defense mechanism, its eyes are in the center of the head so that they cannot be hurt. In order to see evolution awarded this fish with a transparent head. The two green spheres are the eyes.

We hope you liked the photos of fish living in the depths of the Mariana Trench.