The Mariana Trench is the deepest trench in the ocean. It is located near the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean. Many ships pass through these places every year. Even in our time, the deepest gutter has not yet revealed all its secrets. Its depth is about 11 km with an error of 40 m, and the pressure at the bottom is 1100 atmospheres. In such conditions, even the current level of technological development does not allow for full-scale research.
Relief and biosphere
The average depth in the Mariana Trench is 3.7 km. During observations, volcanoes were found in its zone, which are located at a depth of over 6 km. Studies have also shown that at great depths (7 km and deeper) various marine creatures live, which was previously considered impossible due to the huge pressure. Among them are many that are not described in sufficient detail. The deepest trench is the habitat of crabs, ophiuros, polychaete worms, ehiurids, starfish, flat fish, holothurians and bivalves. Many organisms are very strange and have a bright color, although sunlight does not penetrate to great depths. A very strange feature of the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench is their size. Many of them are significantly larger than their relatives, who live not so far from the surface of the ocean.
Research history
The first to try to study the Mariana Trench, the British back in 1872 on the Challenger sailing corvette, which was rebuilt for oceanographic and hydrological studies and measured the depths. However, the first significant data by English scientists were obtained only in 1951. Researchers have determined the approximate depth of the depression. According to their results, the gutter was able to accommodate the highest mountain - Everest. The depression went into the depths of the ocean at 10863 meters. Prior to these studies, the world only knew what the deepest gutter in the world. After them, interest in the Mariana Trench increased significantly.
In 1957, this place was investigated by Soviet scientists. They also found the maximum depth of the depression - 11022 m. At the same time, the presence of living creatures at depths of 7 km and more was established. This was a sensation, because before these studies, scientists believed that only the simplest could survive at such depths.
Almost all knew about the name of the deepest trench in the middle of the 20th century. In 1960, people sank to the bottom of the trench. This was done by researcher Jacques Picard and the American military Don Walsh in the Trieste armored bathyscaphe. Instruments showed that the device plunged to a depth of more than 11.5 km, but then it was adjusted to 10918 m. Researchers at the bottom spent only a little more than 10 minutes. However, this time was enough for them to find there flat fish resembling a flounder. The dive lasted five hours, and the climb took three.
In the 90s, several attempts were made (with varying degrees of success) to plunge into a depression. A lot of new data has been received. A very large role in the research was played by Japanese scientists. Attempts to study the Mariana Trench more thoroughly are made today.