Huge peaks and valleys can be found on Earth’s terrestrial surface, while the oceans have a topography that is just as varied.
The Mariana Trench, a chasm in the western Pacific Ocean that stretches over 1,580 miles (2,540 kilometers) and is home to the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on Earth’s surface that plunges more than 36,000 feet (about 11,000 meters) underwater, is perhaps the most fascinating of these features.
That is deeper than Mount Everest is tall and approximately three times deeper than the location of the RMS Titanic’s Atlantic Ocean debris.
Challenger Deep deepest point – These intriguing details of this deep-sea occurrence are listed below
It is located in the hadal zone, so named after the underworld deity
The ocean can be thought of as having layers, much like the atmosphere of Earth.
According to NOAA, the sunlight zone, which is located in the topmost section, is only 660 feet (200 meters) below the water’s surface.
The so-called twilight zone, or mesopelagic zone, extends from the end of the sunlight zone to a depth of roughly 3,300 feet (1,000 meters).
the abyssopelagic zone, or the abyssal zone, which stretches from 13,100 feet (4,000 meters) to 19,700 feet (6,000 meters), and the bathypelagic zone, often known as the midnight zone, which is below that. That is submerged for almost 4 miles. There aren’t many living things that can survive in the abyssal zone, and the water is utterly dark and icy.
But the hadal zone, also known as the hadal zone, is where the Challenger Deep is located. It is named after Hades, a Greek underworld deity who is said to reign over the dead.
Mud volcanoes and unusual aquatic life are found there
One of the least researched environments on Earth is the hadal zone. It was long believed that nothing could survive at those bone-crushing depths in the absence of sunlight.
But such notion has been proven false.
“Life exists even at the very bottom. According to NOAA, microscopic single-celled organisms known as foraminifera, a category of plankton, were found in the Challenger Deep in 2005.
At the Challenger Deep, colorful rocky outcrops and sea cucumbers that live at the bottom have been found.
According to NOAA, a number of hydrothermal vents and underwater mud volcanoes in the Mariana Trench are also home to exotic species. Exotic species and microscopic organisms can thrive in hydrothermal vents of mud volcanoes despite the very acidic and infernally hot water they emit.
Instead of sunshine, the organisms depend on the nutrient-rich waters that hydrothermal vents spew out. Chemical processes between seawater and magma rising from the ocean floor provide the medium that supports life.
In the trench, a plastic bag was located
Victor Vescovo, a Texas investor who travelled 35,853 feet (10,927 meters) down and set a world record in 2019, was another explorer who returned to the site.
When Vescovo discovered a plastic bag and candy wrappers at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he provided a sobering glimpse of humanity’s impact on these supposedly inaccessible remote areas.
Since then, a few explorers have made the journey to the Challenger Deep, but the expeditions are rare — and the route is exceedingly risky.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, every 33 feet (10 meters) beneath the ocean’s surface increases the pressure on an object by one atmosphere. An atmosphere is a measurement unit that equals 14.7 pounds per square inch. A trip to the Challenger Deep can subject a vessel to pressures “equivalent to 50 jumbo jets,” according to Feldman.
One of the rarely visitors of the Challenger Deep deepest point is ‘Titanic’ director James Cameron
There have been few human missions to the Challenger Deep.
The first was the historic dive of the Trieste bathyscaphe, a form of free-diving submersible, in 1960. During the dive, guests Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh stated they were astounded to observe living species where experts had thought nothing could survive.
The director of the 1997 film “Titanic,” James Cameron, was the next deep-sea adventurer to follow. In 2012, he established a world record by piloting a submersible he helped construct to a depth of 35,787 feet (10,908 meters).
It’s tough to tell how deep the trench is
The ocean floor is still one of the most enigmatic regions in the cosmos.
“We have better maps of the moon and Mars than we do of our own planet,” Feldman previously told CNN.
Despite the fact that humans have been exploring the ocean’s surface for tens of thousands of years, only around 20% of the bottom has been mapped, according to NOAA 2022 projections.
Given the Mariana Trench’s popularity, researchers have made various efforts to provide increasingly precise images of its features. But it’s not going to be easy: Because of the expanse and depth of the bottommost ocean zone, scientists must rely on sonar, or acoustic, technology to provide a complete view of what lies underneath.
Because sensors and technology are constantly improving, the estimated depth of the Challenger Deep has been increased to around 35,876 feet (10,935 meters) as recently as 2021.
In 2009, the Mariana Trench was classified as a US national monument
The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument was declared in 2009, in part to conserve the uncommon creatures that live there.
The underwater ecosystem and its life forms, such as deep-sea shrimp and crabs, are of particular interest, as are stony coral reefs further up in the water column.
“A great diversity of seamount and hydrothermal vent life (is) worth preservation,” according to NOAA.
The total area protected by the national monument is approximately 95,000 square miles (246,049 square kilometers).