Mariana Trench
Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench, the lowest and deepest point of our planet, for many centuries has been harboring many mysteries that even the most modern scientific equipment cannot fully explore. Legends and bold theories about the origin of all life on Earth have been repeatedly based on the realities of this unique geographical object, where the monstrous water pressure, it would seem, well, in no way “disposes” to a comfortable existence of living organisms, but, nevertheless, they are there!
Video: Who lives at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
. Contents- Highlights
- Discovery and first observations
- Secrets, riddles and legends
- Confirmed evidence
- Features of the deep sea world
Incredible facts - Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench
- Research continues
Highlights
The Mariana Trench began to be explored by the British. In 1872, the sailing corvette Challenger with scientific workers and the most advanced equipment of those times entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Having made measurements, they established the maximum depth of 8367 meters. The value, of course, is noticeably different from the correct result. But it was enough to realize that the deepest point of the globe had been discovered. So the next mystery of nature was “challenged” (in English “Challenger” means “challenging”). Years went by, and in 1951 the British carried out “work on errors”. Namely: a deep-sea echo sounder recorded a maximum depth of 10863 meters.
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Verified Testimonies
In 1918, Australian lobster fishermen told of a transparent-white fish about 30 meters long that they saw in the sea. It was described as resembling an ancient shark of the species Carcharodon megalodon, which inhabited the seas 2 million years ago. Scientists from the surviving remains were able to recreate the appearance of the shark – a monstrous creature 25 meters long, weighing 100 tons and an impressive two-meter jaws with teeth of 10 cm each. Can you imagine such “teeth”! And they 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 makes it certain that not all megalodons died out two million years ago. Could it be that the waters of the Mariana Trench are hiding these incredible predators from human eyes? Research continues, and the depths still hold many unsolved mysteries.
.Features of the deep sea world
The water pressure at the lowest point of the Mariana Trench is 108.6 MPa, which is 1072 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Vertebrate animals simply cannot survive in such monstrous conditions. But, strange as it may seem, molluscs have taken root here. How their shells withstand such colossal water pressure is unclear. These clams are an incredible example of survival. They exist near serpentine hydrothermal vents. Serpentine contains hydrogen and methane, which not only do not threaten 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 deadly gas for mollusks – hydrogen sulfide. But “cunning” and thirsty for life mollusks have learned to process hydrogen sulfide into protein, and continue, as they say, live happily in the Mariana Trench.
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Another incredible mystery of the deep-sea object – the hydrothermal spring “Champagne”, named after the famous French (and not only) alcoholic beverage. It’s all about the bubbles that “bubble” in the waters of the spring. Of course, these are by no means the bubbles of your favorite champagne – they are liquid carbon dioxide. Thus, the only underwater source of liquid carbon dioxide in the world is located in the Mariana Trench. Such sources are called “white smokers”, their temperature is lower than the ambient temperature, and there are always vapors around them, similar to white smoke. Thanks to these sources and born hypotheses about the origin of all life on earth in the water. Low temperature, 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. This is taken care of by the black smokers. The hydrothermal springs, which are the antipode of the “white smokers”, contain a large amount of ore substances and are therefore dark in color. These springs are located here at a depth of about 2 kilometers and spew out water with a temperature of about 450 degrees Celsius. Immediately recalls the school course of physics, from which we know that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. So what happens? Is the source spewing boiling water? Fortunately, no. It’s all about the enormous pressure of water – it is 155 times higher than on the surface of the Earth, so H2O does not boil, but heats up the waters of the Mariana Trench. The water of these hydrothermal springs is incredibly rich in various minerals, which also contributes to the comfortable habitation of living creatures.
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Incredible Facts
How many more mysteries and incredible wonders does this incredible place hold? Plenty. At a depth of 414 meters, the Daikoku volcano is located here, providing further proof that life originated here, at the deepest point of the globe. In the crater of the volcano, under water, there is a lake of pure molten sulfur. In this “cauldron” sulfur boils at a temperature of 187 degrees Celsius. The only known analog of such a lake is on Jupiter’s satellite Io. There’s nothing else like it on Earth. Only in space. It is not surprising that most hypotheses about the origin of life from water are associated with this mysterious deep-water object in the Pacific Ocean.
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Research continues
In collaboration with The National Geographic, the talented filmmaker created the documentary The Abyss Challenge. In his account of the dive, he referred to the bottom of the abyss as “the frontier of life.” Emptiness, silence, and – nothing, not the slightest movement or stirring of the water. No sunlight, no mollusks, no algae, no sea monsters. But that’s only at first glance. In the bottom soil samples that Cameron took, over twenty thousand different microorganisms were found. That’s a huge number. How do they survive under such incredible water pressure? It’s still a mystery. Among the inhabitants of the depression was also found a shrimp-like amphipod that produces a unique chemical that is being tested by scientists as a vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease.
.During his stay in the deepest point of not only the world’s oceans, but the entire Earth, James Cameron did not meet any scary monsters, representatives of extinct animal species, or an alien base, not to mention some incredible miracles. The feeling that he was completely alone here came as quite a 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 words cannot convey. However, he still tried to do so in his documentary. Well, the fact that the Mariana Trench is silent and shocking in its desolation, probably should not be surprised. After all, it simply holds sacred the mystery of the origin of all life on Earth …
