Bathyscaphe dive ocean abyss water. Mariana Trench: monsters, facts, secrets, riddles and legends. Mariana lizards: true or fake
In honor of which it, in fact, got its name. The depression is a crescent-shaped ravine on the ocean floor with a length of 2,550 km. with an average width of 69 km. According to the latest measurements (2014), the maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is 10,984 m. This point is located at the southern end of the trench and is called the “Challenger Deep”. Challenger Deep).
The trench was formed at the junction of two lithospheric tectonic plates - the Pacific and Philippine. The Pacific plate is older and heavier. Over the course of millions of years, it “crept” under the younger Philippine Plate.
Opening
The Mariana Trench was first discovered by a scientific expedition of a sailing ship. Challenger" This corvette, which was originally a warship, was converted into a scientific vessel in 1872 specifically for the Royal Society for the Advancement of Natural Sciences of London. The ship was equipped with biochemical laboratories, means for measuring depth, water temperature and soil sampling. That same year, in December, the ship set off for scientific research and spent three and a half years at sea, covering a distance of 70 thousand nautical miles. At the end of the expedition, which was recognized as one of the most scientifically successful since the famous geographical and scientific discoveries of the 16th century, over 4,000 new species of animals were described, in-depth studies of almost 500 underwater objects were carried out, and soil samples were taken from various parts of the world's oceans.
Against the backdrop of the important scientific discoveries made by Challenger, the discovery of an underwater trench especially stood out, the depth of which amazes the imagination of even contemporaries, not to mention scientists of the 19th century. True, initial depth measurements showed that its depth was just over 8,000 m, but even this value was enough to talk about the discovery of the deepest point known to man on the planet.
The new trench was named the Mariana Trench - in honor of the nearby Mariana Islands, which in turn were named after Marianne of Austria, the Spanish queen, wife of King Philip IV of Spain.
Research into the Mariana Trench continued only in 1951. English hydrographic vessel Challenger II examined the trench using an echo sounder and found that its maximum depth was much greater than previously thought, amounting to 10,899 m. This point was given the name “Challenger Deep” in honor of the first expedition of 1872-1876.
Challenger Abyss
Challenger Abyss is a relatively small flat plain in the south of the Mariana Trench. Its length is 11 km and its width is about 1.6 km. Along its edges there are gentle slopes.
Its exact depth, which is called a meter per meter, is still unknown. This is due to the errors of the echo sounders and sonars themselves, the changing depth of the world's oceans, as well as the uncertainty that the bottom of the abyss itself remains motionless. In 2009, the American vessel RV Kilo Moana determined the depth to be 10,971 m with a probability of error of 22-55 m. Research in 2014 with improved multibeam echo sounders determined the depth to be 10,984. This is exactly what the value is recorded in reference books and is currently considered the closest to the real one.
Dives
Only four scientific vehicles visited the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and only two expeditions included people.
Project "Nekton"
The first descent into the Challenger Abyss took place in 1960 on a manned submersible " Trieste", named after the Italian city of the same name where it was created. It was flown by an American US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard. The device was designed by Jacques' father, Auguste Piccard, who already had experience in creating bathyscaphes.
Trieste made its first dive in 1953 in the Mediterranean Sea, where it reached a record depth of 3,150 m at that time. In total, the bathyscaphe made several dives between 1953 and 1957. and the experience of its operation has shown that it can dive to more serious depths.
Trieste was purchased by the US Navy in 1958, when the United States became interested in seabed exploration in the Pacific region, where some island states came under de facto jurisdiction as the victorious nation in World War II.
After some modifications, in particular further compaction of the outer part of the hull, Trieste began to be prepared for immersion in the Mariana Trench. Jacques Piccard remained the pilot of the bathyscaphe, since he had the most experience in driving the Trier in particular and bathyscaphes in general. His companion was Don Walsh, a then-current US Navy lieutenant who served on a submarine and later became a famous scientist and naval specialist.
The project for the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench received a code name Project "Nekton", although this name did not catch on among the people.
The dive began on the morning of January 23, 1960 at 8:23 local time. To a depth of 8 km. the apparatus descended at a speed of 0.9 m/s, and then slowed down to 0.3 m/s. The researchers saw the bottom only at 13:06. Thus, the time of the first dive was almost 5 hours. The submersible stayed at the very bottom for only 20 minutes. During this time, the researchers measured the density and temperature of the water (it was +3.3ºС), measured the radioactive background, and observed an unknown fish similar to a flounder and a shrimp that suddenly appeared at the bottom. Also, based on the measured pressure, the diving depth was calculated, which was 11,521 m, which was later adjusted to 10,916 m.
While at the bottom of the Challenger Abyss we explored and had time to refresh ourselves with chocolate.
After this, the bathyscaphe was freed from ballast and the ascent began, which took less time - 3.5 hours.
Submersible "Kaiko"
Kaiko (Kaikō) - the second of four devices that reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench. But he visited there twice. This uninhabited remote-controlled underwater vehicle was created by the Japan Agency for Marine Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and was intended to study the deep seabed. The device was equipped with three video cameras, as well as two manipulator arms controlled remotely from the surface.
He made more than 250 dives and made enormous contributions to science, but he made his most famous journey in 1995, diving to a depth of 10,911 m into the Challenger Deep. It took place on March 24 and samples of benthic extremophile organisms were brought to the surface - this is the name given to animals capable of surviving in the most extreme environmental conditions.
Kayko returned to the Challenger Deep again a year later, in February 1996, and took samples of soil and microorganisms from the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Unfortunately, Kaiko was lost in 2003 after the cable connecting it to the carrier vessel broke.
Deep-sea submersible "Nereus"
Unmanned remote-controlled deep-sea vehicle " Nereus"(English) Nereus) closes the trio of devices that reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench. His dive took place in May 2009. Nereus reached a depth of 10,902 m. He was sent to the site of the very first expedition to the bottom of the Challenger Abyss. He stayed at the bottom for 10 hours, broadcasting live video from his cameras to the carrier ship, after which he collected water and soil samples and successfully returned to the surface.
The device was lost in 2014 during a dive into the Kermadec Trench at a depth of 9,900 m.
Deepsea Challenger
The last dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was made by the famous Canadian director James Cameron, inscribing itself not only in the history of cinema, but also in the history of great research. It happened on March 26, 2012 on a single-seat submersible Deepsea Challenger, built under the direction of Australian engineer Ron Alloon in collaboration with National Geographic and Rolex. The main objective of this dive was to collect documentary evidence of life at such extreme depths. From the soil samples taken, 68 new animal species were discovered. The director himself said that the only animal he saw at the bottom was an amphipod - an amphipod, similar to a small shrimp about 3 cm in length. The footage formed the basis of a documentary film about his dive into the Challenger Deep.
James Cameron became the third person on Earth to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench. He set a diving speed record - his submersible reached a depth of 11 km. in less than two hours. He also became the first person to reach such a depth in a solo dive. He spent 6 hours at the bottom, which is also a record. Bathyscaphe Trieste was at the bottom for only 20 minutes.
Animal world
The first Trieste expedition reported with great surprise that there was life at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Although it was previously believed that the existence of life in such conditions was simply not possible. According to Jacques Piccard, they saw at the bottom a fish resembling an ordinary flounder, about 30 cm long, as well as amphipod shrimp. Many marine biologists are skeptical that Trier's crew actually saw the fish, but they do not so much question the researchers' words as they are inclined to believe that they mistook a sea cucumber or other invertebrate for the fish.
During the second expedition, the Kaiko apparatus took soil samples and in fact found many tiny organisms capable of surviving in absolute darkness at temperatures close to 0°C and under monstrous pressure. There is not a single skeptic left who doubts the presence of life everywhere in the ocean, even in the most incredible conditions. However, it remained unclear how developed such deep-sea life was. Or are the only representatives of the Mariana Trench the simplest microorganisms, crustaceans and invertebrates?
In December 2014, a new species of sea slug was discovered - a family of deep-sea marine fish. The cameras recorded them at a depth of 8,145 m, which was an absolute record for fish at that time.
In the same year, cameras recorded several more species of huge crustaceans, differing from their shallow-sea relatives by deep-sea gigantism, which is generally inherent in many deep-sea species.
In May 2017, scientists reported the discovery of another new species of sea slug, which was discovered at a depth of 8,178 m.
All deep-sea inhabitants of the Mariana Trench are almost blind, slow and unpretentious animals capable of surviving in the most extreme conditions. Popular stories that the Challenger Deep is inhabited by marine animals, megalodon and other huge animals are nothing more than fables. The Mariana Trench is fraught with many secrets and mysteries, and new species of animals are no less interesting to scientists than relict animals known since the Paleozoic era. Being at such depths for millions of years, evolution has made them completely different from shallow-water species.
Current research and future dives
The Mariana Trench continues to attract the attention of scientists around the world, despite the high cost of research and its poor practical application. Ichthyologists are interested in new species of animals and their adaptive abilities. Geologists are interested in this region from the point of view of the processes occurring in lithospheric plates and the formation of underwater mountain ranges. Ordinary researchers simply dream of visiting the bottom of the deepest trench on our planet.
Several expeditions to the Mariana Trench are currently planned:
1. American company Triton Submarines develops and produces private underwater bathyscaphes. The newest model Triton 36000/3, consisting of a crew of 3 people, is planned to be sent to the Challenger Abyss in the near future. Its characteristics allow it to reach a depth of 11 km. in just 2 hours.
2. Company Virgin Oceanic(Virgin Oceanic), specializing in private shallow dives, is developing a single-person deep-sea vehicle that can deliver a passenger to the bottom of the trench in 2.5 hours.
3. American company DOER Marine working on a project" Deep Search"—one or two-seater submersible.
4. In 2017, the famous Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov announced that he plans to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
1. In 2009 it was created Maritime Marianas National Monument. It does not include the islands themselves, but only covers their marine territory, with an area of more than 245 thousand km². Almost the entire Mariana Trench was included in the monument, although its deepest point, the Challenger Deep, was not included in it.
2. At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the water column exerts a pressure of 1,086 bar. This is a thousand times more than standard atmospheric pressure.
3. Water compresses very poorly and at the bottom of the gutter its density increases by only 5%. This means 100 liters of ordinary water at a depth of 11 km. will occupy a volume of 95 liters.
4. Although the Mariana Trench is considered the deepest point on the planet, it is not the closest point to the center of the Earth. Our planet is not an ideal spherical shape, and its radius is approximately 25 km. less at the poles than at the equator. Therefore, the deepest point on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean is 13 km. closer to the center of the Earth than in the Challenger Abyss.
5. The Mariana Trench (and other deep-sea trenches) have been proposed to be used as nuclear waste cemeteries. It is assumed that the movement of the plates will “push” waste under the tectonic plate deeper into the Earth. The proposal is not without logic, but the dumping of nuclear waste is prohibited by international law. In addition, the zones of junctions of lithospheric plates give rise to earthquakes of enormous force, the consequences of which are unpredictable for buried waste.
- 3711 meters - the average depth of the World Ocean (the totality of oceans and seas covering 70% of the Earth's surface)
- 1370 million cubic kilometers - the volume of the World Ocean
- 400 thousand square kilometers - the area of the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Four oceanic mountain ranges 2.5 kilometers high were also discovered there.
1. What is it
The Mariana Trench is a deep-sea trench (something like an underwater canyon) in the western Pacific Ocean, near the Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Its length is 1500 km, width - from 1 to 5 km. The lowest point (10,994 meters below sea level, plus or minus 40 meters) is the so-called Challenger Deep, it is located in the southwestern part of the depression, 340 km southwest of the island of Guam. The conditions here are harsher than in space: complete darkness, water temperature is about zero degrees, the pressure at the bottom is more than 1000 times higher than on the surface (up to 108.6 MPa).
2. Who's there?
To approximately a depth of 6–8 km, highly developed organisms (fish, mollusks, jellyfish) are often found: deep-sea creatures here use smell, electroreception (the ability to sense electrical signals) and receptors that respond to changes in pressure for orientation. So, in 2014, at an elevation of 8143 meters in the Mariana Trench, scientists discovered a representative of a previously unknown species of fish from the family of sea slugs - it has a translucent body, an eel tail and a large dog-like head.
Whether there is developed life below is still unknown, although back in 1960, the first visitors to the Challenger Deep (see the chapter “Who Was There”) seemed to see something resembling a flounder at the bottom. In 1995, from a depth of 10,641 meters, scientists raised samples of foraminifera (shelled, single-celled organisms) - this is all that is reliably known about life at the bottom.
3. Who found it
In 1875, the oceanographic expedition of the Royal Society of London on the corvette Challenger made the first measurements of depths in the Mariana Trench area. The lot (a long rope with a lead weight at the end) showed a depth of 8367 meters. In 1951, a British expedition on the ship Challenger II found the lowest point of the depression, the same Challenger Deep (the echo sounder then showed a depth of 10,863 meters). In 2011, researchers from the University of New Hampshire (England) using an underwater robot refined the data (10,994 meters).
Who was there
In 1960, US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss explorer Jacques Piccard were the first to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the bathyscaphe Trieste, designed by Jacques' father Auguste Piccard. Their journey down and up lasted 8 hours 25 minutes, but the researchers stayed at the bottom for only about 20 minutes and, allegedly, even ate a chocolate bar. In 2012, director James Cameron sank to the bottom alone at a speed of 5 km/h on the Challenger Deep bathyscaphe and was back in place after 2 hours 36 minutes. Cameron stayed below for about six hours and took many pictures and videos (from which he created
Many people know that the highest point is (8848 m). If you are asked where the deepest point of the ocean is, what will you answer? Mariana Trench– this is the very place we want to tell you about.
But first I would like to note that they never cease to amaze us with their mysteries. The described place has also not yet been properly studied for completely objective reasons.
So, we offer you or, as it is also called, the Mariana Trench. Below are valuable photographs of the mysterious inhabitants of this abyss.
It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. This is the deepest place in the world known to date.
Having a V-shape, the depression runs along the Mariana Islands for 1,500 km.
Mariana Trench on the map
An interesting fact is that the Mariana Trench is located at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine.
The pressure at the bottom of the trench reaches 108.6 MPa, which is almost 1072 times higher than normal pressure.
You probably now understand that due to such conditions, exploring the mysterious bottom of the world, as this place is also called, is extremely difficult. However, the scientific community, since the end of the 19th century, has not stopped studying this mystery of nature step by step.
Mariana Trench Research
In 1875, the first attempt was made to explore the Mariana Trench globally. The British expedition "Challenger" carried out measurements and analysis of the trench. It was this group of scientists who set the initial mark at 8184 meters.
Of course, this was not the full depth, since the capabilities of that time were significantly more modest than today's measuring systems.
Soviet scientists also made enormous contributions to research. An expedition led by the research vessel Vityaz began its own studies in 1957 and discovered that there was life at a depth of more than 7,000 meters.
Until this time, there was a strong belief that life at such depths was simply impossible.
We invite you to look at an interesting scale image of the Mariana Trench:
Diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench
1960 was one of the most fruitful years in terms of research into the Mariana Trench. The research bathyscaphe Trieste made a record dive to a depth of 10,915 meters.
This is where something mysterious and inexplicable began. Special devices that record underwater sound began to transmit eerie noises to the surface, reminiscent of the grinding of a saw on metal.
The monitors registered mystical shadows that were shaped like fairy-tale dragons with several heads. For an hour, scientists tried to record as much data as possible, but then the situation began to get out of control.
It was decided to immediately raise the bathyscaphe to the surface, as there were reasonable fears that if we waited a little longer, the bathyscaphe would forever remain in the mysterious abyss of the Mariana Trench.
For more than 8 hours, specialists recovered from the bottom unique equipment made of heavy-duty materials.
Of course, all the instruments, and the bathyscaphe itself, were carefully placed on a special platform to study the surface.
Imagine the surprise of the scientists when it turned out that almost all the elements of the unique apparatus, made of the strongest metals at that time, were severely deformed and distorted.
The cable, 20 cm in diameter, lowering the bathyscaphe to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was half sawn through. Who tried to cut it and why remains a mystery to this day.
An interesting fact is that only in 1996 the American newspaper The New York Times published details of this unique study.
Lizard from the Mariana Trench
The German Haifish expedition also encountered the inexplicable mysteries of the Mariana Trench. While plunging the research apparatus to the bottom, the scientists faced unexpected difficulties.
Being at a depth of 7 kilometers under water, they decided to lift the equipment.
But the technology refused to obey. Then special infrared cameras were turned on to find out the cause of the failures. However, what they saw on the monitors plunged them into indescribable horror.
A fantastic giant-sized lizard was clearly visible on the screen, which was trying to chew the submersible like a squirrel nut.
Being in a state of shock, the hydronauts activated the so-called electric gun. Having received a powerful electric shock, the lizard disappeared into the abyss.
What it was, the fantasy of scientists obsessed with research, mass hypnosis, the delirium of people tired of colossal stress, or just someone’s joke is still unknown.
The deepest place in the Mariana Trench
On December 7, 2011, researchers at the University of New Hampshire sank a unique robot to the bottom of the trench under study.
Thanks to modern equipment, it was possible to record a depth of 10,994 m (+/- 40 m). This place was named after the first expedition (1875), about which we wrote above: “ Challenger Deep».
Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench
Of course, after these inexplicable and even mystical secrets, natural questions began to arise: what monsters live at the bottom of the Mariana Trench? After all, for a long time it was believed that below 6000 meters the existence of living beings is in principle impossible.
However, later studies of the Pacific Ocean in general, and the Mariana Trench in particular, confirmed the fact that at a much greater depth, in impenetrable darkness, under monstrous pressure and water temperature close to 0 degrees, a huge number of unprecedented creatures live.
Undoubtedly, without modern technology, made of the most durable materials and equipped with cameras unique in their properties, such research would simply be impossible.
Half-meter mutant octopus 
One and a half meter monster 
As a general summary, we can confidently say that at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, between 6000 and 11000 meters under water, the following were reliably discovered: worms (up to 1.5 meters in size), crayfish, a variety of amphipods, gastropods, mutant octopuses, mysterious, not identified soft-bodied creatures of two meters in size, etc.
These inhabitants feed mainly on bacteria and the so-called “corpse rain,” that is, dead organisms that slowly sink to the bottom.
Hardly anyone doubts that the Mariana Trench stores many more. However, people do not give up trying to explore this unique place on the planet.
Thus, the only people who dared to dive to the “bottom of the earth” were the American marine specialist Don Walsh and the Swiss scientist Jacques Picard. On the same bathyscaphe "Trieste" they reached the bottom on January 23, 1960, descending to a depth of 10915 meters.
However, on March 26, 2012, James Cameron, an American director, made a solo dive to the bottom of the deepest point of the World Ocean. The bathyscaphe collected all the necessary samples and took valuable photos and videos. Thus, we now know that only three people have been to the Challenger Deep.
Did they manage to answer at least half of the questions? Of course not, since the Mariana Trench still hides much more mysterious and inexplicable things.
By the way, James Cameron stated that after diving to the bottom he felt completely cut off from the human world. Moreover, he assured that no monsters simply exist at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
But here we can recall the primitive Soviet statement, after a flight into space: “Gagarin flew into space - he did not see God.” From this the conclusion was drawn that there is no God.
Likewise here, we cannot say unequivocally that the giant lizard and other creatures that scientists saw during previous research were the result of someone’s sick imagination.
It is important to understand that the geographical object under study has a length of more than 1000 kilometers. Therefore, potential monsters, inhabitants of the Mariana Trench, could well be located many hundreds of kilometers from the research site.
However, these are just hypotheses.
Panorama of the Mariana Trench on Yandex Map
Another interesting fact may intrigue you. On April 1, 2012, the Yandex company published a comic panorama of the Mariana Trench. On it you can see a sunken ship, water drains and even the glowing eyes of a mysterious underwater monster.
Despite the humorous idea, this panorama is tied to a real place and is still available to users.
To view it, copy this code into the address bar of your browser:
https://yandex.ua/maps/-/CZX6401a
The Abyss knows how to keep its secrets, and our civilization has not yet reached such a development as to “hack” natural mysteries. However, who knows, maybe one of the readers of this article in the future will become the genius who will be able to solve this problem?
Subscribe to - with us, interesting facts will make your leisure time extremely exciting and useful for your intellect!
Did you like the post? Press any button.
The Mariana Trench is one of the least explored places on our planet. Although the deepest ocean trench still hides a lot of secrets, man managed to learn several interesting facts about its structure and parameters.
William Bradberry | Shutterstock.com
Some of the data about the Mariana Trench is known to a fairly wide circle.
1. Thus, the pressure in the Mariana Trench is 1100 times greater than at sea level. For this reason, immersing a living creature without special equipment in a chute is an effective way to commit suicide.
2. The maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is 10,994 meters ± 40 meters (according to data from 2011). For comparison, the highest peak on Earth, Everest, reaches a height of 8,848 meters, and therefore, if it were in the Mariana Trench, it would be completely covered with water.
3. The deep-sea trench got its name from the Mariana Islands, located about 200 km to the west.
Research missions that dared to descend into the deep-sea trench discovered its more amazing facts.
4. The water in the Mariana Trench is relatively warm, ranging from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. The reason for such a high temperature of deep-sea water is hydrothermal springs, the water around which heats up to 450 degrees Celsius.
5. Huge poisonous xenophyophores live in the gutter. Single-celled organisms reach 10 centimeters (!) in diameter.
6. The Mariana Trench is home to shellfish. Invertebrates are found in the vicinity of serpentine hydrothermal vents, which emit hydrogen and methane necessary for the life of mollusks.
7. The Champagne hydrothermal vent in the basin produces liquid carbon dioxide.
8. The bottom of the depression is covered with viscous mucus, which is crushed shells and plankton remains, turned into sticky mud by incredible water pressure.
9. At a depth of about 414 meters in the Mariana Trench there is an active volcano, Daikoku. The volcanic eruptions formed a lake of liquid sulfur, the temperature of which reaches 187 degrees Celsius.
10. In 2011, 4 stone “bridges” were discovered in the Mariana Trench, each 69 kilometers long. Scientists suggest that they were formed at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.
11. Famous director James Cameron became one of three daredevils who descended into the Mariana Trench. The creator of Avatar began his journey in 2012.
12. Mariana Trench is a US National Monument and the largest marine sanctuary in the world.
13. The Mariana Trench is by no means a strictly vertical depression in the seabed. The shape of the Mariana Trench resembles a crescent, about 2,550 kilometers long and an average width of 69 kilometers.
Excellent students at school firmly learned: the highest point on earth is Mount Everest (8848 m), the deepest depression is Mariana. However, if we know a lot of interesting facts about Everest, then most people know nothing about the trench in the Pacific Ocean, besides the fact that it is the deepest.
FIVE HOURS DOWN, THREE HOURS UP
Despite the fact that the oceans are closer to us than the mountain peaks and even more so the distant planets of the solar system, people have explored only five percent of the seabed, which still remains one of the greatest mysteries of our planet.
With an average width of 69 km, the Mariana Trench was formed several million years ago due to shifts of tectonic plates and stretches in the shape of a crescent for two and a half thousand kilometers along the Mariana Islands.
Its depth, according to recent research, is 10,994 meters ± 40 meters (for comparison: the equatorial diameter of the Earth is 12,756 km), the water pressure at the bottom reaches 108.6 MPa - this is more than 1100 times more than normal atmospheric pressure!
The Mariana Trench, also called the Earth's fourth pole, was discovered in 1872 by the crew of the British research vessel Challenger. The crew took measurements of the bottom at various points in the Pacific Ocean.
Another measurement was made in the area of the Mariana Islands, but the kilometer-long rope was not enough, and then the captain ordered two more kilometer sections to be added to it. Then again and again...
Almost a hundred years later, the echo sounder of another English, but under the same name, scientific vessel recorded a depth of 10,863 meters in the Mariana Trench area. After this, the deepest point of the ocean floor began to be called the “Challenger Deep”.
In 1957, Soviet researchers established the presence of life at depths of more than 7,000 meters, thereby refuting the prevailing opinion at that time about the impossibility of life at depths of more than 6,000-7,000 meters, and also clarified the British data, recording a depth of 11,023 meters in the Mariana Trench .
The first human dive to the bottom of the depression took place in 1960. It was carried out on the Trieste bathyscaphe by the American Don Walsh and the Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard.
The descent into the abyss took them almost five hours, and the ascent took about three hours; the researchers spent only 20 minutes at the bottom. But this time was enough for them to make a sensational discovery - in the bottom waters they discovered flat fish up to 30 cm in size, similar to flounder, unknown to science.
LIFE IN PETTER DARKNESS
In the course of further research using unmanned deep-sea vehicles, it turned out that at the bottom of the depression, despite the terrifying water pressure, a wide variety of species of living organisms live. Giant 10-centimeter amoebas - xenophyophores, which under normal terrestrial conditions can only be seen with a microscope, amazing two-meter worms, no less huge starfish, mutant octopuses and, naturally, fish.
The latter amaze with their terrifying appearance. Their distinctive feature is a huge mouth and many teeth. Many spread their jaws so wide that even a small predator can swallow whole an animal larger than itself.
There are also quite unusual creatures, reaching two meters in size with a soft jelly-like body, which have no analogues in nature.
It would seem that at such a depth the temperature should be at Antarctic levels. However, Challenger Deep contains hydrothermal vents called “black smokers.” They constantly heat the water and thereby maintain the overall temperature in the depression at 1-4 degrees Celsius.
The inhabitants of the Mariana Trench live in pitch darkness, some of them are blind, others have huge telescopic eyes that catch the slightest glare of light. Some individuals have “lanterns” on their heads that emit different colors.
There are fish in whose bodies a luminous liquid accumulates. When they sense danger, they splash this liquid towards the enemy and hide behind this “curtain of light.” The appearance of such animals is very unusual for our perception and can cause disgust and even inspire a feeling of fear.
But it is obvious that not all the mysteries of the Mariana Trench have yet been solved. Some strange animals of truly incredible size live in the depths!
THE LIZARD TRIED TO CHEAT THE BATHYSCAPH LIKE A NUT
Sometimes on the shore, not far from the Mariana Trench, people find the bodies of dead 40-meter monsters. Giant teeth were also discovered in those places. Scientists have proven that they belong to a multi-ton prehistoric megalodon shark, the span of which reached two meters.
These sharks were thought to have gone extinct about three million years ago, but the teeth found are much younger. So have the ancient monsters really disappeared?
In 2003, another sensational results of research into the Mariana Trench were published in the United States. Scientists have submerged an unmanned platform equipped with searchlights, sensitive video systems and microphones in the deepest part of the world's oceans.
The platform was lowered on 6 inch-section steel cables. At first, the technology did not provide any unusual information. But a few hours after the dive, the silhouettes of strange large objects (at least 12-16 meters) began to flash on the monitor screens in the light of powerful spotlights, and at that time the microphones transmitted sharp sounds to the recording devices - the grinding of iron and dull, uniform blows on metal.
When the platform was raised (without being lowered to the bottom due to incomprehensible obstacles that prevented the descent), it was discovered that the powerful steel structures were bent, and the steel cables seemed to have been sawed off. A little more and the platform would forever remain the Challenger Deep.
Previously, something similar happened to the German device “Hayfish”. Having descended to a depth of 7 kilometers, he suddenly refused to emerge. To find out what was wrong, the researchers turned on an infrared camera.
What they saw in the next few seconds seemed to them a collective hallucination: a huge prehistoric lizard, clinging to the bathyscaphe with its teeth, tried to chew it like a nut.
Having recovered from the shock, the scientists activated the so-called electric gun, and the monster, struck by a powerful discharge, hastened to retreat.
Giant 10-centimeter amoeba - xenophyophora
WHO IS THE REAL “OWNER” OF PLANET EARTH
But it's not just fantastic monsters that are captured by deep-sea cameras. In the summer of 2012, the unmanned deep-sea vehicle Titan, launched from the research vessel Rick Mesenger, was in the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10,000 meters. His main goal was to film and photograph various underwater objects.
Suddenly the cameras recorded a strange multiple shine of a material very similar to metal. And then, several tens of meters from the device, several large objects appeared in the light of the spotlight.
Having approached these objects to the maximum allowable distance, the Titan displayed a very unusual picture on the monitors of the scientists on the Rick Mesenger. On an area of approximately a square kilometer there were about 50 large cylindrical objects, very similar to... flying saucers!
A few minutes after the “UFO airfield” was recorded, the Titan stopped communicating and never surfaced.
There are a lot of well-known facts that, if they do not confirm the possibility of the existence of intelligent creatures in the depths of the sea, then, in any case, fully explain why modern science still knows nothing about them.
Firstly, man's native habitat - the earth's surface - occupies only a little more than a quarter of the land surface. So our planet could well be called the Ocean planet rather than the Earth.
Secondly, as everyone knows, life originated in water, so marine intelligence (if it exists) is about one and a half million years older than humans.
That is why, according to some experts, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, thanks to the presence of active hydrothermal springs, not only entire colonies of prehistoric animals that have survived to this day can exist, but also an underwater civilization of intelligent creatures unknown to earthlings! The “fourth pole” of the Earth, in the opinion of scientists, is the most suitable place for them to live.
And once again the question arises: is man the only “master” of planet Earth?
FIELD RESEARCH IS PLANNED FOR SUMMER 2015
The third person in the entire history of exploration of the Mariana Trench to descend to its bottom was exactly three years ago. James Cameron.
“Almost everything on the earth’s land has been explored,” he explained his decision. — In space, bosses prefer to send people circling around the Earth, and send machine guns to other planets. For the joys of discovering the unknown, there is only one field of activity left - the ocean. Only about 3% of its water volume has been studied, and what’s next is unknown.”
On the DeepSes Challenge bathyscaphe, being in a half-bent state, since the internal diameter of the device did not exceed 109 cm, the famous film director observed everything that was happening in this place until mechanical problems forced him to rise from the surface.
Cameron managed to take samples of rocks and living organisms from the bottom, as well as film with 3D cameras. Subsequently, these shots formed the basis of a documentary film.
However, he never saw any of the terrible sea monsters. According to him, the very bottom of the ocean was “lunar... empty... lonely,” and he felt “complete isolation from all humanity.”
Meanwhile, in the telecommunications laboratory of Tomsk Polytechnic University, together with the Institute of Marine Technology Problems of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the development of a domestic device for deep-sea research, which can descend to a depth of 12 kilometers, is in full swing.
Specialists working on the bathyscaphe declare that there are no analogues to the equipment they are developing in the world, and “field” studies of the sample in the waters of the Pacific Ocean are planned for the summer of 2015.
The famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov also began working on the project “Diving into the Mariana Trench in a Bathyscaphe.” According to him, his goal is not just to touch the bottom of the deepest depression of the World Ocean, but also to spend two whole days there, conducting unique research.
The bathyscaphe is designed to accommodate two people and will be designed and built by an Australian company.